Feb. 15, 2008 – After a two-quarter blackout, Hynix Semiconductor is preparing to resume selling DRAM chips on the sport market, likely starting in 2Q08, according to the Korea Times.
Last September the company, which then supplied about 15% of DRAM production to the spot market, said it would hike output of >1Gb DRAM from 10% to 60% of its total DRAMs by the end of 2007.
While cautioning that any talk of a possible return to the spot market is still preliminary, “we don’t rule out the possibility,” a “high-ranking official” now tells the paper. The official also emphasized that it also does not indicate a change in policy to focus on more stable long-term contracts.
The world’s No.2 DRAM chipmaker is likely eyeing some stability of late in ASPs, the paper noted — prices of 512Mb DDR2 chips are still fluctuating between $0.98-$1.20, on expectations of a production cut by Taiwanese and Japanese providers. Spot prices reached a crossover point in January where the price-per-bit for 1Gb DRAM became cheaper than 512Mb DRAMs. Also, contract prices rose ~4% during the month. Still, “we need to wait longer until prices rise up to the proper level,” the unnamed official told the paper.
Despite Hynix’s potential return to the spot market, an unidentified brokerage-house analyst told the paper that DRAM price resilience “will not last long” due to concealed inventory at DRAM companies. “