DRAM companies' request for help to be decided by end of November

The state-backed Taiwan Innovation Memory Co. (TIMC) , Powerchip Semiconductor -- the nation's largest DRAM maker prior to the economic downturn -- and the lesser-known, Kaohsiung-based Taiwan Creative Lab all applied for public subsidies by the late-October deadline set by the government.

Although Taiwan Creative Lab is a one-man company and not well- known, it will still be screened based on the same standards as the others, an Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) official said.

The bureau is still consulting with the review committee's members to set the date of the meeting, with the official saying "the sooner the better, " but he expected it would be held in the second half of the month.

TIMC has requested NT$5 billion (US$154 million) in aid, while Powerchip is hoping for NT$8 billion to establish a new flash memory company, Taiwan Flash Co.

But the official declined to reveal how much Taiwan Creative Lab had requested.

Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said last month that the government will invest a maximum of NT$10 billion in an innovative memory chip company, and only if such an enterprise can secure core technology and help Taiwan stay competitive in the field.

In July, the government said it had allocated NT$30 billion in state funds to help DRAM producers restructure their operations, which were plunged further into debt by the global economic slump that ravaged Taiwan's export-oriented economy earlier in the year.

According to principles unveiled by the ministry in August, applicants' proposals would have to include plans for developing technology with foreign firms, as well as strategies such as mergers and acquisitions.

Taiwan's government tried to launch Taiwan Memory Company (now called Taiwan Innovation Memory) earlier this year to restructure the industry. It was to consolidate Powerchip, ProMOS, and Rexchip Electronics and incorporate technology from Japan-based Elpida Memory.

But that venture's fate remains uncertain, as some question its need with the market picking up again.

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