If Hewlett-Packard (HP) finally disposes of its PC business unit by selling it to Samsung Electronics, DRAM chip suppliers, particularly those less-competitive players in Taiwan, will be negatively impacted, according to industry sources.
HP currently is the world's largest PC brand and sources DRAM chips from multiple suppliers including Taiwan-based Nanya Technology, the sources indicated.
A transfer of HP's PC business unit to Samsung would likely reshuffle the existing supply chain for HP-branded desktops and notebooks as the Korean electronics giant sources mainly from its internal supply chain, the sources pointed out.
HP shipped more than 60 million PCs in 2010 grabbing a 18.6% market share. Of the shipments, nearly 40 million notebooks were shipped in 2010 giving the vendor a 19.3% share of the global notebook market.
Samsung takes up a more than 40% share of the global DRAM market, and is also the largest panel supplier worldwide.