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To: Craig Freeman who wrote (16604)	11/14/2000 12:44:02 AM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 60323

STMicro Aims to be No. 2 Player in Flash Memory in 2002, CEO Says November 14, 2000 (TOKYO) -- Pasquale Pistorio, president and CEO of Franco-Italian company STMicroelectronics, revealed at a Tokyo press conference that the firm aims to capture the third-biggest share of the global market for flash memory in 2001, and the second-biggest share in 2002. STMicroelectronics boasts a 25-year history of making flash memory devices, and has built up valuable development know-hows, said Pistorio, adding that the company was now second to none in terms of cost-competitiveness. By these advantages, he continued, this year the firm is managing to ship three times the volume of flash memory that it shipped in 1999. As a result, predicted Pistorio, the company would rank as the world's number four flash memory manufacturer for this year -- up from its number six ranking in 1999. Pistorio also made clear that the firm would be investing US$3 billion on new semiconductor production equipment in 2000, and has earmarked the same amount for 2001. He predicted that the market for semiconductors would keep getting better through this year and next, riding on strong demand for networking equipment, digital consumer appliances and the increasing use of electronics in vehicles. The firm's capital investment in semiconductor-related equipment is set to jump from around US$1.35 billion in 1999 to US$3 billion this year, followed by the same amount in 2001. Production lines for system LSI chips typically have trouble making any return on the money invested to set them up. That's mainly because although system LSI chips are used in many different products, they are commonly only needed in small production volumes. This won't be a problem for STMicroelectronics, said Pistorio, because the high added-value of the chips will provide enough of a margin for the firm to easily recoup its investment costs. (Nikkei Microdevices)