By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Hynix Semiconductor, the world's No. 2 dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip manufacturer, has secured another springboard Monday to spur its strategic contract-based foundry business by forming a tie-up with a local fabless company.
Hynix said it has signed a binding agreement to buy a 5 percent stake in C&S Technology for 4.5 billion won ($4.5 million) and jointly develop semiconductors used in automobiles.
Under the agreement, Hynix will produce automobile chips for C&S Technology, which sells chipsets used in broadcasting and other communications services, Hynix said.
"The market for automobile chips is bright as cars are advancing in terms of technology," its spokeswoman Lee Si-hyun said. The automobile chip market is forecast to grow $25 billion by 2011 from some $18 billion in 2007, according to industry estimates.
Last month, Hynix bought a controlling 30 percent stake in Siliconfile Technologies. Siliconfile, which is traded on the tech-savvy Kosdaq market, produces CMOS image sensors.
Also in March, the Samsung chaser acquired a 10 percent stake in Fidelix, a provider of semiconductor and communication solutions, for some 3.6 billion won ($3.6 million). Under the terms of transactions, Hynix is to produce DRAM chips for Fidelix at its 8-inch chip-producing facilities.
Despite growing complaints from Samsung, Hynix has been expanding its foundry business because the bearish market conditions are forcing the chipmaker to secure more partnerships to save costs.