Mashing six companies together is proving tricky, complicated by overlapping technology alliances and the near-bankruptcy of the weakest player, ProMOS. Taiwan Memory Inc could be funded by state capital and equity from the Formosa Plastics Group, parent of two of the chipmakers. On paper, the mega-corp would boast market share of 22 per cent in dynamic random access memory chips – used for short-term storage in computers and other gadgets – posing a real threat to Korea's Samsung (27 per cent) and Hynix (21 per cent). But that simple calculation overlooks the painful integration process and Taiwan's inexperience in technology consolidation – its only big merger was to create flat-panel display-maker AU Optronics in 2001.
首席执行官们哀叹看不清前景已成为时尚。但台湾的存储芯片制造商来说，前景却再清楚不过了：臃肿的行业规模必须收缩。最好的结果是——至少对台湾而言，由政府主导的行业重组可以保留2.8万个本地就业机会中的大部分。最糟糕的结果是，利己主义和贷款机构从中作梗，台湾将近乎全部的行业控制权拱手让给韩国人。