Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has attempted to downplay a serious decline in IT exports.

The president emphasised that Taiwain's high-tech industry would have the opportunity to "experience prosperity" in 2009 despite recording negative growth. However, Ma admitted that exports had declined as markets in the US, Europe and China contracted. 

Nevertheless, Ma reiterated that Taiwan's technology sector remained sound and would eventually recover with government assistance.

As IT Examiner previously reported, the slump in the price of DRAM has prompted the Taiwanese government to provide local manufacturers with financial aid. Taipei has also granted embattled firms six months grace from creditors as well as bank loan extensions. Nevertheless, pessimistic market analysts continue to project significant losses for the industry and predict a total yearly deficit of $3 billion. For example, South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor lost over $1 billion during the third quarter of 2008, while US-based Micron Technology recorded quarterly losses of US $344 million.

Pai Pei-lin, VP and spokesperson of Nanya Technology, blamed low-end devices such as the EEE PC and Netbook for negatively affecting sales.

"The more these gadgets sell, the worse off the DRAM industry becomes," Pei-lin told the Taiwan Journal.

The grim outlook for memory manufacturers is not expected to improve any time soon. Analysts estimate a sequential drop of approximately six per cent, or 70,000 wafers (12-inch equivalents), in overall DRAM output during the first quarter of 2009. This could force large Korean manufacturers to formulate cost-cutting alliances with Taiwanese companies.

However, memory manufacturers are not the only companies facing a potentially drastic decline in exports. The DigiTimes reports that large-size LCD panel shipments are expected to drop in the fourth quarter after decreasing 2.4 per cent during the third quarter.

"Taiwan's large-size TFT LCD panel shipments dropped in the third quarter at a pace faster than the industry's average," explained Digitimes Research display analyst, Tony Huang.  "In the fourth quarter, demand for LCD TV panels will remain sluggish. With such major TV brands as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony cutting their panel orders, Taiwan's TV panel shipments will drop drastically." X

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