MOEA Pledges to Support Four Major Industries

Taipei, Nov. 18, 2011 (CENS)--The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will lend proper assistance to the four industries of FPD (flat panel display), DRAM, LED, and solar energy, due to their important role in Taiwan's industrial structure, said Shih Yen-shiang, economics minister, yesterday (Nov. 17).

The four industries produce critical components and parts, said Shih. Take DRAM for instance. Despite its low prices and overcapacity of the PC market, Taiwan's PC industry will miss a critical part and the entire industry's supply will encounter a problem, should Taiwan lacks its own DRAM industry.

The MOEA has reportedly expressed support for the banking consortium to bail out Powerchip Technology, a major DRAM maker, but Shih stressed that the final decision lies in the hands of the banking consortium.

For the transformation of Powerchip and the DRAM industry, Shih pointed out that Taiwan is a free market and it is impossible for the government to provide administrative guidance. In addition, the government lacks the expertise to do so, since the MOEA cannot grasp the ideas and customer relations of each company.

The MOEA, said Shih, is watching closely the status of the four industries and will provide individual assistance to individual enterprises, if necessary. There will not be a universal practice, however, according to Shih.

For corporate merger, Shih said that the arrangement involves complicated relationship of interests and the government can only respond to the request of enterprises for assistance passively.

Tu Tze-chun, director general of the Industrial Development Bureau, pointed out that overcapacity of the DRAM industry is a global issue, rather than Taiwan alone, as Micron and Elpida are also suffering serious loss. Corporate merger needs the effort of enterprises themselves and the government can step in only when enterprises encounter difficulty during the process, according to Tu.