Elpida Memory had agreed to offer more favorable contract terms and conditions to ProMOS Technologies under a technology licensing agreement, and therefore gained approval for its TDR (Taiwan depositary receipt) listing, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Apart from being a contract manufacturer for Elpida, ProMOS will be allowed to manufacture and sell its own-brand DRAM using the Japan vendor's 63nm process technology starting 2011, the sources indicated. Sources believe ProMOS' own-brand DRAM products will be focused on the consumer sector, as the standard DRAM business is profitless.
In response, Tu Chi-chun, director general of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), said the agreement with Elpida is built upon the benefits to the Taiwan DRAM industry. But Tu declined to comment whether ProMOS has obtained any preferential terms of technology license from Elpida. ProMOS said its partnership with Elpida has reached beyond contract manufacturing, but it is currently inconvenient to elaborate further.
Elpida reportedly obtained approval from the IDB for its TDR listing, and will submit its application to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) for a TDR issue to raise a total of US$100 million.