The Taiwan government has decided to not inject funds into Taiwan Innovative Memory Company (TIMC), and TIMC, as a privately held company, will have to decide its own future, according to Taiwan's economics minister Shih Yen-shiang.
However, Shih said the government will support TIMC's operations. He did not elaborate.
Prior to Shih's remarks yesterday (March 3), officials with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) already disclosed that the government stood little chance of receiving the nod from lawmakers for pouring money into TIMC. John Hsuan, who has been tapped to operate TIMC, said that TIMC would not seek private funding if the government decided not to invest in it.
Shih, who became Taiwan's economics minister in September 2009, initially stated that he would carry out the TIMC project in line with the government's plans to restructure the country's capacity-driven DRAM industry. The project had been unveiled by his predecessor, Chii-Ming Yiin, with Husan designated as head of Taiwan Memory Company (TMC), whose name was later changed to TIMC.
According to the MOEA's Commerce Department, TIMC was officially established on July 31 with registered capital of NT$500,000 (US$16,000).