SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean chipmakers are expected to
expand their production of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips
despite falling market prices in a bid to cope with the rise of Chinese
rivals, industry sources said Wednesday.
The global contract
price for a DDR3 4GB module, the standard in setting the price of DRAMs,
came to US$16.7 in October, down 9.5 percent from $18.5 posted in
September, the data compiled by industry tracker DRAMeXchange showed.
DRAMeXchange, however, said South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co.
and SK hynix Inc. are expected to expand DRAM production to curb the
rise of Chinese chipmakers.
Earlier this year, Tsinghua
Unigroup of China sought to purchase Micron Inc. but faced challenges
from U.S. policymakers, who feared a possible outflow of key
technologies.
The move made by the state-owned Chinese firm was
seen as Beijing's ambition to make the chip industry its new growth
engine, increasing the potential threats for existing players.
The industry tracker said Samsung is expected to commence the
18-nanometer production in 2016 and further widen its gap with other
rivals. Samsung currently focuses on 20-nanometer production. A smaller
number indicates improved productivity.
SK hynix is also set to begin a full-fledged production of 21-nanometer DRAMs next year, it added.
"Though increasing capacity will result in short-term price
fluctuations and even declining profits, this action is necessary to
retain market shares and raise the competitive barriers against
potential rivals," DRAMeXchange said.
Samsung and SK hynix
currently take up more than 70 percent of the global DRAM market, while
the U.S. company Micron Technology Inc. boasts around a 20 percent
share.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2015/11/04/0200000000AEN20151104001500320.html
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