WASHINGTON TARGETS SAMSUNG CHIPS ..AGAIN

[Anonymous]

Washington targets top chipmakers
US
authorities have launched another investigation into the sales and
marketing practices used by firms in the computer memory chip
industry.Samsung and Cypress Seminconductor, makers of Static Random
Access Memory (SRAM) chips, are helping with the Department of Justice
(DOJ) enquiries.A previous crackdown on the Dynamic Random Access
Memory (DRAM) chip market found evidence of price fixing.It saw more
than $731m (£394m) in fines given to 12 people and four firms.The two
firms, among the biggest chipmakers in the world, have both confirmed
that they are in contact with the DOJ about the latest investigation,
into SRAM chips.

Prior concerns
The investigation will be
undertaken by the Department’s Antitrust Division, although it is not
clear whether the enquiries are focussed on price-fixing, dumping or
other practices.Earlier this year three executives at Samsung were
sentenced to between seven and eight months in prison and fined
$250,000 (£143,000) each after a probe into price fixing in the DRAM
chip industry.Other chipmakers fined as a result of that investigation
were Elphida, Infineon and Hynix.The case was seen as a mark of the US
government’s determination to maintain competitive pricing in the
chipmaking sector.SRAM chips provide rapid access to data in computer
and telephone networks.The much bigger DRAM market specialises in
lower-performance chips that store data while a device is turned on.

[Author]

October 25, 2006 at 1:58 PM