(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Toshiba to Halve Ratio of DRAMs in Memory Business by 2000
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August 24, 1998 (TOKYO) -- Toshiba Corp. plans to trim the ratio of its
dynamic random access memory business to 50 percent or less of its total
semiconductor memory business by fiscal 2000.
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The reason for reducing the ratio of DRAMs is to strengthen the large-capacity
flash memory business, the company said. It expects new demand for flash
memory devices for use in portable audio devices. So Toshiba will expand
mass production of large-capacity flash memory, a company spokesperson
said.
Toshiba is already mass producing 64Mb NAND flash memory and others at
its Oita plant in Kyushu. The company will start mass production of
it at its Yokkaichi plant in Mie as well as at the Dominion plant in
the United States, which is a joint venture with IBM Corp. It will change
the existing manufacturing equipment for DRAMs at Yokkaichi and Dominion
into facilities to produce flash memory by investing about 20 billion
yen (US$140 million).
While the scale of mass production of 16M, 32M and 64M flash memory products
is only about 1 million units per month currently, as of 2000 the company
plans to expand its capacity to produce up to 3 million units of 256Mb
NAND flash memory, the spokesperson said.
In commenting about a press report that Toshiba plans to revise downwardly
its production plans for 64Mb DRAMs from the initial volume of 8 million
units per month to 7 million units as of March 1999, the spokesperson
said that the report "is not based upon facts, and our initial plan
of monthly production of 8 million units has not changed."
"While there is a possibility that the total may decline to a monthly
production of 7 million units in the future depending upon the market
trends, there is no less possibility that it may increase from the 8
million figure," the spokesperson added.
The company will proceed as planned to promote larger capacity for DRAMs.
Following 128Mb DRAMs, for which sample shipments have begun, the company
plans to start sample shipments of 256Mb DRAMs by the end of 1998.
(Nikkei Microdevices)
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