The latest research from DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports quarterly decline in the average contract price of mainstream PC-Client OEM SSDs in the first quarter of 2016. By architecture, MLC-based SSDs and TLC-based SSDs respectively suffered price declines of 10~12% and 7~12%.
Set against the prior quarter, the contract prices of NAND Flash memory chips fell by 9~10% in the fourth quarter of 2015 as the market experienced oversupply. Prices of eMMC and SSD products also fell by 10~11% quarterly due to shipments of OEM devices - such as smartphones, tablets and notebooks - being weaker than expected in the same period.
After several rounds of long and difficult negotiation, major electronics brand Sharp finally accepted the acquisition offer made by Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry) on February 25. This tie-up, which has been a trending topic within the global technology sector, will have a major and long-term impact on the display industry and the related panel application markets, according to WitsView, a division of TrendForce.
Unisplendour, the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Chinese technology conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup, announced on February 23 that its board decided to terminate their investment plan in U.S. data storage company Western Digital (WD). This announcement came after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) sent a letter notifying Unisplendour that the agency will be reviewing the WD deal.
China’s NAND Flash industry witnessed a steady growth in investments through 2015. As Chinese semiconductor companies build up their memory manufacturing capabilities at the wafer level, they are also beginning to pay greater attention to the production of controller chips for memory products. DRAMeXchange believes that the Chinese semiconductor sector will focus on controller houses in its next phase of development due to the component’s vital position in the NAND Flash chain.
