By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter

Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second biggest chipmaker behind Samsung Electronics, said it expects prices of computer memory chips to decline by about 30 percent in 2009, and prices of NAND flash memory chips to fall 40 percent further from this year.

"The slowdown in both personal computer and motherboard sales will weaken the demand for DRAMs, which will hurt prices," a Hynix executive told The Korea Times, Wednesday.

The combination of sliding customer demand and oversupply in key markets has driven the prices for NAND chips below their manufacturing costs, forcing the company to establish a renewed guideline.

DRAM chips are widely used in personal computers, while NAND chips are used in portable devices such as car navigation systems and MP3 players.

About 85 percent of the demand for NAND chips comes from the consumer market. The downturn in consumer spending has hurt the demand for NAND products "badly," according to iSuppli, a market research firm.

Samsung recently said it expects global DRAM prices to fall 30 percent next year. Samsung, Hynix and other global players like Japan's Elpida and Taiwan's Powerchip and ProMos have all moved to cut their capacity by as much as 30 percent to respond to deteriorating market conditions.

yckim@koreatimes.co.kr