While Taiwan's DRAM industry has been in serious trouble, the established 12-inch fab capacity and corresponding manpower in Taiwan should not be wasted and instead can be shifted to foundry services, chairman and CEO Arthur Chiao for Winbond Electronics emphasized.

The decline of Taiwan's DRAM industry is in response to changes in global high-tech industries from Winbond's viewpoints based in its successful experience of transforming operation from standard DRAM to market-niche memory ICs, Chiao indicated. To establish a mechanism for DRAM makers' timely withdrawal is not a bad thing, Chiao said.

The integration of DRAM makers under discussion face three problems which seem to be insolvable, that is, Taiwan-based DRAM makers' combined global market share is below 10%, the total 12-inch production capacity will not decrease through integration, lack of self-developed technologies, according to industry sources.

As to the suggestion of introducing funds from China to purchase 12-inch fabs, Chiao indicated that this it is impossible because China-based enterprise, if planning to develop DRAM business, will talk with Micron Technology or Elpida Memory for licensing of technologies and have no reasons to purchase DRAM fabs in Taiwan.