WTC assault may delay Nanya share issue

Terrorists have undermined investor confidence

Taiwanese memory maker Nanya will decide shortly whether to delay its planned NT$8 billion ($232 million) overseas share sale.

Behind the move are fears that Tuesday's terrorist action will further weaken computer sales and investor confidence in the IT sector, Nanya vice-president Charles Kau told Bloomberg.

With memory sales and prices way down, Nanya had been hoping to use the proceeds of the sale to fund its proposed 300mm wafer fab. If the company does delay the upcoming share issue, construction work will have to be put on hold too, Kau said.

"If we don't go ahead with the sale this year, we'll have to evaluate construction of the 12in fab," Kau said starkly. "If we don't spend money on the new fab, we don't need the money."

Nanya has already sold NT$7.5 billion of shares to raise funds for the construction programme.

The company lost NT$3.8 billion during the first half of the year. The second half is unlikely to be any better - we're already coming to the end of the third quarter and there's little sign of a recovery in the memory market. Indeed some observers have claimed the memory business will not pick up until mid to late 2002 at the earliest. ®