Chartered Semiconductor exemplifies the problems facing Singapore's ailing electronics sector after warning that it will suffer its biggest loss in nearly four years when it reports its results for the last quarter of 2008.

Former United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) chairman Robert Tsao and former vice chairman John Hsuan were found not guilty by the Taiwan High Court yesterday of illegal investments in a Chinese company.

South Korea's exports fell by more than 15% for a second straight month in December, adding to signs the economy is headed for its first recession since 1998. President Lee Myung Bak said South Korea will run an "economy-emergency government" this year to fight the worst economic crisis since its 1997 $57 billion bailout by the IMF.

JP Morgan analyst Christopher Danely today lowered his estimate for global semi sales in 2009 from a decline of 17% to a decline of 20%, after Wednesday's report from trade group The Semiconductor Industry association that showed a steeper-than-expected decline in chip sales in November.

Computer-chip manufacturer Qimonda Ag said it is taking steps to meet the New York Stock Exchange's market-capitalization standard and increase the price of its American depositary shares to above US$1 to remain listed on the bourse. Qimonda's US-listed shares lost 2.6% in after-hours trading.

Samsung Electronics plans to slash its investment in semiconductor chips by more than 50% this year. The world's biggest computer chip maker is considering reducing its investment in semiconductor chips to two-three trillion won, sources told The Korea Times. Samsung invested 6.2 trillion won in chips in 2008, down from its earlier plan of seven trillion won.

Taiwanese semiconductor company ASE Group plans to invest about one billion yuan in a Chongqing factory for consumer electronic products and components in April 2009, reports China Business News. However, ASE has denied the paper.

Debt-laden Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductor will not go bankrupt, though some of its peers may fall by the wayside, its chief executive told a Dutch newspaper as the sector endures a crippling downturn. "This will keep us going for a very long time. NXP will not go bankrupt," he was quoted on Monday as saying.

Wachovia Capital Markets analyst David Wong said Micron should take action to raise cash over the next two to three quarters. The Boise, Idaho, maker of semiconductor devices had US$1.03 billion in cash and short-term investments and US$2.9 billion in debt at the end of its fiscal 2009 first quarter, ended Dec. 4, according to Wong.

Ideally, the four companies should come together as one,” Yukio Sakamoto, chief executive officer of Tokyo-based Elpida, said in an interview after confirming the discussions with Powerchip, Rexchip Electronics and ProMOS Technologies. He declined to elaborate on details of the negotiations.

Elpida is talking with Powerchip, Rexchip Electronics and ProMOS Technologies, Yukio Sakamoto, chief executive officer of Tokyo-based Elpida, said in a Bloomberg interview on Dec. 26, without elaborating on details of the negotiations. The four companies combined would challenge Samsung Electronics as the world’s biggest producer.

The ministry said Japan aims to have solar power systems installed on more than 70 percent of new homes. The new efforts will also include solar power education in schools, the development of refined deep cycle battery technologies and the installation of grid connections.

Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida on Friday called on the government to prepare a safety net for unemployed workers as companies are forced to carry out aggressive layoffs to combat the economic storm. "Assuming a certain degree (of downturn) in business cycles, the government needs to prepare a safety net in terms of employment."

Toshiba will likely delay the construction of a new memory chip plant in western Japan by half a year due to slow progress in land acquisition, the Nikkei business daily said, citing President Atsutoshi Nishida.

Poor third quarter results by Applied Materials has forced it to lay off staff, including at its Israeli subsidiary.

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microchip disclosed that it owns a 5.4% stake in Supertex, a publicly-held mixed signal semiconductor manufacturer. Over the last 90 days, ''Microchip has purchased 594,300 shares in the open market and the remaining 103,100 shares were acquired through the exercise of put options sold by Microchip.

ASML announced at SEMICON Japan the first system based on its new NXT lithography platform. The TWINSCAN NXT:1950i provides the increased productivity and enables chip manufacturers to shrink feature sizes to 32 nanometers and beyond in order to reduce costs.

Hynix Semiconductor said on Wednesday it would cut planned spending on a South Korean plant and delay a $260 million investment in its Chinese joint venture as it tries to deal with a cash shortage amid a downturn. Hynix shares slid 12.7% to end at 6,720 won before the announcement, compared with the wider market's 1.4% loss.

hareholders led by Korea Exchange Bank said in a statement they would extend 500 billion won ($374 million) in new loans to Hynix in early January and roll over all of its maturing debt by the end of 2009.

South Korea has begun full-scale commercial production of micro-electronic mechanical system (MEMS) sensors that can greatly bolster competitiveness in its information technology industry, the government said Tuesday.

With flash memory scaling coming under increasingly sharp questioning, Toshiba (Tokyo) researchers said they have developed a double tunnel layer technology for SONOS-type memories that could be scaled to the 10 nm generation. At the 2007 IEDM, Toshiba presented a SONOS-type memory with a 1.2 nm silicon nanocrystal layer capable of supporting 100 Gb densities at the 15 nm generation.

Shares of Infineon Technologies AG rose as much as 21% on Monday after spun-off offspring Qimonda received a 325 million-euro ($456 million) loan.

MEMS solution provider MEMSIC has announced a new line of magnetic sensors with enhanced digital compass functionality, which will enable a host of new location-based services (LBS) in GPS (global positioning systems) enabled mobile phones and PNDs (personal navigation devices).

The Netherlands-based provider of lithography systems will trim 10% of its workforce, comprising approximately 1,000 employees who are mainly on temporary contracts, as it looks to cut costs in 2009.

STMicroelectronics NV, Europe's largest semiconductor maker, plans to shut its plants in Italy over the Christmas period, affecting about 8,000 workers, as demand slides amid a deteriorating economy and an industry glut.