To: phbolton who wrote (46025 ) 5/28/1999 12:14:00 PM From: DJBEINO Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 53903
Mosel Vitelic of Taiwan to Raise DRAM Microchip Prices May 28, 1999 (TAIPEI) -- Mosel Vitelic Inc., a Taiwan-based maker of DRAM microchips, announced May 25 that it will raise its product prices by 10 percent. The companyユs major shareholder is Siemens A.G. of Germany. Mosel Vitelic is working to minimize the impact of the 31-percent punitive tariffs levied on its exports of DRAM products to the United States. H.J. Hu, chairman of Mosel Vitelic, said the company has a high cost structure for producing 64Mb DRAM chips with the 0.35-micron process technology. Hu added that the company also is producing 64Mb DRAM chips with 0.20-micron process technology, and is planning to diversify its product line. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., United Microelectronics Corp., and Winbond Electronics Corp. are all subject to 16.65 percent punitive tariffs levied on DRAMs by the United States. However, all three companies said the impact is expected to be limited. TSMC and UMC focus on the wafer foundry business, and they produce only limited volumes of DRAM products on an OEM basis. Winbond sells DRAMs directly to Toshiba Corp. Winbond's vice chairman, T.Y. Yang, said that PC manufacturers in the United States are likely to suffer most from Micron Technology's anti-dumping charges, because their procurement costs of DRAM chips will rise. Etron Technology Inc. was subjected to a 4.95-percent tariff by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the lowest amount among local companies. However, the company's chairman said he still considers the rate to be too high. He said that the United States may have included the stock option bonus for its employees in the third quarter of last year as a part of the manufacturing costs, when calculating such costs. Taiwan-based manufacturers said fewer than 10 percent of their clients actually import Taiwan-made DRAM chips directly to the U.S. market. Most of them ship the chips to manufacturing centers outside the United States and install them into computers or other finished products. Most of the local companies believe that the impact of the U.S. Department of Commerce ruling will be quite limited. nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com