Inotera Memories has raised its capex budget to NT$57 billion (US$1.81 billion) for 2015, and reiterated plans to convert 80% of its total wafer start capacity to 20nm process technology by the end of the year.

Inotera previously set NT$50 billion for capex this year.

Inotera started building chips using 20nm process technology in the second quarter of 2015, said the company, adding that transitioning to the newer production node has resulted in higher costs on construction of new cleanrooms and expenditure on more production equipment. The additional NT$7 billion will be mainly used for process technology transition, the company added.

Inotera's 20nm products will include 8Gb DDR4 and 4Gb mobile DRAM memory chips, the company noted.

Inotera is capable of producing 300,000-320,000 12-inch wafers quarterly. By the end of 2015, an estiamted 80,000 wafers will be manufactured using the company's newer 20nm process monthly, according to market sources.

Inotera has reported disappointing revenues and profits for the second quarter of 2015. The company is cautious about its performance in the third quarter, citing unfavorable market conditions such as continued oversupply of DRAM and falling chip prices.