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To: TREND1 who wrote (43869)	3/16/1999 10:32:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 53903

Samsung Ships Out World's 1st 256M Synchronous DRAM 03/16,17:15 Samsung Electronics yesterday began shipping out the world's first 256 megabit synchronous dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, making it the first company ever to successfully lead the market for multi-generational products. In a ceremony held at its chip production facilities in Kihung, Kyonggi-do, Samsung unveiled what is generally called a ''dollar box,'' a 1 gigabyte module consisting of 32 256M synchronous DRAM chips. ''The module currently fetches about $10,000 in the international market and are mostly used in mainframes and supercomputers,'' explained Hwang Chang-kyu, executive vice president of the semiconductor business division. He went on to forecast that Samsung will be shipping out $200-300 million worth of the chips and modules, a figure which should increase to $7 billion by the year 2002 when the market will be valued at $24 billion. He added that Samsung has already signed contracts with companies like Intel, IBM and Siemens for the supply of 20,000 units and should be able to sell at least 2-3 million units this year. ''What is most significant about the commercial production of the first 256M synchronous DRAM chips is that it makes them the third generation of memory devices for which Samsung is leading the global market,'' Hwang said. In the past, companies like Intel and Toshiba had been able to take the initiative for products like the 64 kilobit and 256 kilobit chips but none of them have been able to maintain their dominance for more than a generation. Samsung began to lead the global market in the development and commercial production of 16 megabit DRAM chips and has been able to sustain the momentum for the 64M and now the 256M chips. The new memory device, which utilizes a 0.18 micron design rule, is to be produced at existing lines instead of investing in additional facilities, thus saving Samsung more than a billion dollars. ''We are currently planning the establishment of new facilities in Hwasung, facilities which will be equipped to handle the production of 1 gigabit DRAM chips,'' said Lee Yoon-woo, president of the semiconductor division. He said one of the strongest advantages of Samsung's technology is that it does not require exclusive facilities for production, something which saves cost and time for setting up new production lines. ''The commercial production of the 256M chips provides new meaning to the term 'added value,''' Lee said explaining that the product weighs in at just 0.6 grams, thus making it 15 times more expensive than gold. He went on to say that the memory device market has seen an unprecedented recession for over the past three years which has led to the collapse of many American and Japanese chipmakers. With the market showing signs of recovery, the introduction of the 256M chips, expected to be used in personal computers from as early as 2002, a trend which will signal a huge increase in their demand. Even though the chips are expected to fetch around $20.70 in the year 2002, down from the current $105, Samsung will be able to reduce its production costs to remain internationally competitive, Lee said. ''We estimate that Samsung is leading the global market by around six months to one year in the development of new memory devices and we are determined to sustain the competitive pace,'' he added.