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To: Bruce A. Thompson who wrote (4170)	2/3/1999 12:51:00 AM
From: Scotsman	Respond to of 4697

TSMC, UMC, Chartered Plan to Raise Wafer Contract Prices February 2, 1999 (TAIPEI) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) plan to raise OEM prices to maintain profitability. Taiwan's two leading semiconductor makers said they are making the move after seeing a return in wafer OEM orders and tightening demand for 0.25-micron production. This marks a sharp reversal of the situation in 1998, when the semiconductor industry reported a glut in production and the production utilization rate fell. This in turn pressed prices down. In 1999, foreign customers' orders are returning, and a number of wafer contract makers report operating at full capacity. Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. of Singapore also plans to raise contract prices starting in the second quarter in order to maintain profitability. An executive in charge of Chartered's Taiwan operations said his company will raise prices on 0.35- to 0.5-micron products by 20-25 percent in the second quarter, mostly in an effort to make up for losses in 1998. Starting early this year, Chartered's wafer production line has been fully booked, with ordered volume already exceeding 15 percent of available capacity. That provides the company with a solid reason to raise prices. Chartered said that at present, 0.35-micron remains the mainstream of its wafer output, while demand for 0.25-micron and 6-in. production continues to increase. The price of Chartered's 0.35-micron production fell to US$800 at the end of last year from a high of US$1,400 early last year. A hike will bring it back up to US$1,000, the executive said. An industry observer said TSMC's new prices are expected to be 10 percent above those of UMC, while the latter normally sets prices 10 percent higher than those of Chartered. nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com.

To: Bruce A. Thompson who wrote (4170)	2/3/1999 12:53:00 AM
From: Scotsman	Respond to of 4697

Worldwide Chip Sales to Rise 15% in 1999, Dataquest Says Bloomberg News February 2, 1999, 6:50 a.m. PT Worldwide Chip Sales to Rise 15% in 1999, Dataquest Says San Jose, California, Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Worldwide semiconductor sales are expected to rise 15 percent in 1999 to $154.5 billion after slumping for the past three years, according to market researcher Dataquest Inc. Much of that increase will come in the second half, as people buy new computers to replace the machines they fear may fail because of the so-called Year 2000 bug. ''The third quarter of 1999 should bring good semiconductor growth -- helped in part by 'protective ordering' in advance of potential Year 2000 problems,'' Dataquest analyst Ron Bohn said in a statement. Older computers could crash on Jan. 1 because of a flaw that prevents software from distinguishing between 1900 and 2000. Dataquest, a unit of Gartner Group Inc., also expects that memory-chip prices will rise. That could benefit companies such as Micron Technology Inc., the biggest U.S. memory-chip maker.