Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Micron Only Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (34500)	6/7/1998 4:07:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 53903

06-08-98 Chip Makers Worried Japan May Refuse to Cut Output Korea's memory chip makers, which have reduced output or plan to do so to shore up prices, are concerned their initiative won't be taken up by their Japanese counterparts, industry sources said. Last week, Hyundai Electronics Ind. Co., Korea's No. 2 semiconductor maker, stopped its chip assembly lines for one week to help prevent further price drops. The country's other two major makers _ including Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip producer _ said they would follow Hyundai's example, in accordance with an industry forecast that the reduction would help solve the global supply glut. The three firms, however, are unsure of the effects of their move, since their Japanese counterparts are reacting less than favorably to it. According to the latest reports, Japan's major chip makers, which have already reduced production, see no need to further reduce output. Japan, which accounts for about 30 percent of the world's semiconductor market, is even considering a gradual increase in chip production, they said. If Japan chooses to move in the opposite direction, Korean chip makers' efforts to boost prices will go nowhere, industry analysts said. The analysts predicted that a joint output reduction by the three Korean firms would reduce the world supply by 12.2 percent this month. If the Korean firms maintain their reduced output, it could even cause a temporary supply shortage in international markets, the analysts said. But Japan's reluctance to participate could dash the efforts of Korean firms, leaving them with sharply reduced shares in global markets. Not all the predictions are so pessimistic, though. Some industry sources say it is too early to conclude that Japanese firms will not cooperate. ''Japanese chip makers are also suffering from the sharp price falls. They will have no other choice but to join us in reducing output,'' an official of a local company said. He added that Japan is only waiting for the right time to act. Korea currently produces 57 million 16-megabyte memory chips, called dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, and 23 million 64-M DRAMs a year. The prices of memory chips have hit rock bottom in recent months, heavily eroding the chip producers' earnings. =========== Fujitsu started, others will follow soon: Fujitsu Idles England Fab, Puts Freeze On Price Cuts pubs.cmpnet.com