Blade_Runner
Skilled
Samsung Electronics is being investigated for allegedly selling NAND flash memory chips to Apple, its U.S.-based key customer, at half their market value, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Wednesday.
Samsung is suspected of supplying 2-gigabyte and 4-gigabyte flash memory chips to Apple at half the market price, a practice called dumping.
Domestic MP3 player makers claim they are being hurt by cheap iPod nano, Apple’s latest MP3 player, which uses NAND flash memory chips instead of hard disk drives.
FTC Chairman Kang Chul-kyu indicated last month that his agency might take action against an alleged unfair deal between Samsung and Apple, if local MP3 players request the probe, making it clear that the investigation would be very thorough.
To determine whether Samsung Electronics violated fair trade laws to supply the chips to Apple, we have asked for all relevant documents from the company,’’ an FTC official said.
Last month, Rep. Kim Hyun-mi from the ruling Uri Party raised a question over Samsung’s suspected double standards in their sale of NAND memory chips.
``When it comes to the sale of memory chips, Samsung applied different prices to Apple and local small and medium sized businesses. Samsung offered the chips to Apple at dirt-cheap prices,’’ she said.
The world’s largest memory chipmaker, however, called the claims groundless. ``We have profited about 30 percent on memory sales, and such a high profit rate would be impossible if were selling chips at half the market prices,’’ said Chu Woo-sik at Samsung Electronics.
An industry source said, ``NAND flash memory chips Samsung supplies to Apple differ from those it offers to domestic companies in memory capacity. So the offering prices have good reason to be different.’’
Samsung has been negotiating with local MP3 player manufacturers over the prices of NAND flash memory since last month when it came under suspicion of discriminating against local businesses.
Samsung has been a pioneer in NAND flash memory, developing generation after generation of high-density devices. NAND flash is not only a theory and a means of memory storage but the key to convergence and unlimited access of advanced features on mobile and digital consumer appliances.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics faces a big challenge to its dominance in the flash memory market, as its key customer Apple decided to split its orders with four manufacturers until 2010. Under a new contract with Apple, Samsung must share the order with South Korea’s Hynix, Japan’s Toshiba and a new joint-venture firm from Intel and Micron of the United States.
Moreover, German-based Infinion and a joint venture of five Japanese electronics firms have rolled up their sleeves to catch up with the Korean memory giant.
Samsung is suspected of supplying 2-gigabyte and 4-gigabyte flash memory chips to Apple at half the market price, a practice called dumping.
Domestic MP3 player makers claim they are being hurt by cheap iPod nano, Apple’s latest MP3 player, which uses NAND flash memory chips instead of hard disk drives.
FTC Chairman Kang Chul-kyu indicated last month that his agency might take action against an alleged unfair deal between Samsung and Apple, if local MP3 players request the probe, making it clear that the investigation would be very thorough.
To determine whether Samsung Electronics violated fair trade laws to supply the chips to Apple, we have asked for all relevant documents from the company,’’ an FTC official said.
Last month, Rep. Kim Hyun-mi from the ruling Uri Party raised a question over Samsung’s suspected double standards in their sale of NAND memory chips.
``When it comes to the sale of memory chips, Samsung applied different prices to Apple and local small and medium sized businesses. Samsung offered the chips to Apple at dirt-cheap prices,’’ she said.
The world’s largest memory chipmaker, however, called the claims groundless. ``We have profited about 30 percent on memory sales, and such a high profit rate would be impossible if were selling chips at half the market prices,’’ said Chu Woo-sik at Samsung Electronics.
An industry source said, ``NAND flash memory chips Samsung supplies to Apple differ from those it offers to domestic companies in memory capacity. So the offering prices have good reason to be different.’’
Samsung has been negotiating with local MP3 player manufacturers over the prices of NAND flash memory since last month when it came under suspicion of discriminating against local businesses.
Samsung has been a pioneer in NAND flash memory, developing generation after generation of high-density devices. NAND flash is not only a theory and a means of memory storage but the key to convergence and unlimited access of advanced features on mobile and digital consumer appliances.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics faces a big challenge to its dominance in the flash memory market, as its key customer Apple decided to split its orders with four manufacturers until 2010. Under a new contract with Apple, Samsung must share the order with South Korea’s Hynix, Japan’s Toshiba and a new joint-venture firm from Intel and Micron of the United States.
Moreover, German-based Infinion and a joint venture of five Japanese electronics firms have rolled up their sleeves to catch up with the Korean memory giant.