“In the area of memory, because of the supply overhang, it will be difficult for us to make a profit,” Executive Vice President Chu Woo Sik, head of Samsung’s investor-relations team, said today at an event in San Francisco. “LCD is struggling very hard to make a profit.”

"The sector is in a dire situation," said Toshiba Senior Executive Vice President Masashi Muromachi. "Sales prices tumbled 40 percent or so in the first half and they are falling faster than expected in the second half." Muromachi also said that World Semiconductor Trade Statistics's revised forecast for 6.5% growth in global sales of semiconductors in 2010 was still high.

Qimonda announced today that it is making progress in its discussions with strategic and financial investors on potential partnerships with Qimonda, and that it will delay the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter of its 2008 financial year and its full financial year ended September 30, 2008 until mid-December while these discussions are proceeding.

Chip makers are shutting down less-productive factories, delaying investment projects and even cutting staff in a sign that the global economic slowdown and the credit crunch are taking a hefty toll on demand and hurting their operations. The coming few months could be critical for several memory-chip makers in Asia, Europe and the US as they continue to grapple with weak demand and a severe cash crunch amid plunging chip prices, which remain well below their manufacturing costs.

Semiconductor equipment companies are using memory semiconductor recession as opportunity to grow further. World economic downturn has hit both local and foreign equipment makers, so local makers believe that if the memory semiconductor market is recovered, only companies that have done their best to cut cost will take the benefit of semiconductor market recovery.

Taiwan announced measures to loosen loan and payment conditions on Monday to help the island's loss-making DRAM memory chip makers. Three major DRAM makers in Taiwan -- Powerchip, Nanya Technology and ProMOS -- are struggling with falling chip prices caused by oversupply. They have been in the red in the past several quarters.

Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor, South Korea's two largest chip companies and leaders in memory IC sales, have said they plan to co-develop and standardize spin-torque-transfer magnetic-random-access-memory (STT-MRAM) chips, and become the industry leaders in the processing of chips on 450-mm wafers, according to reports.

Chip designer Rambus Inc. has asked a federal judge in San Jose to rule that Hynix Semiconductor Inc. can't sell chips in the US. Rambus has filed similar suits against Samsung Electronics Co. and Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology alleging they conspired to fix prices for memory chips.