BEIJING,
Nov. 27 -- Microsoft Corp's Vista operating system may do little for shares of
Samsung Electronics Co and Hynix Semiconductor Inc, Asia's largest memory-chip
makers, because most new computers already have enough memory to run it.
Micron Technology Inc, the biggest American maker of
memory chips, and Qimonda AG, Europe's largest, have joined Samsung and Hynix in
predicting rising demand because the first major upgrade of Windows since 2001
requires more memory in personal computers. The system will be offered to
companies starting on November 30, Bloomberg News reported.
Two-thirds of the desktop computers in the U.S. have
the one gigabyte of memory Microsoft says is required for the consumer version
of Vista, and buyers may not rush to install the new system. Chipmaker shares,
which have rallied 5.3 percent this month in advance of Vista's introduction
next week for companies, may go little further.
"The Vista effect may be smaller than expected
initially as there is not much merit to switch systems right away," said Kim
Hyun Tae, who counts Samsung Electronics among the 500 million U.S. dollars he
manages at Landmark Investment Management Co in Seoul. "It's too early to see
explosive growth in demand and Vista is more of a long-term factor for
chipmakers."
Shares of Samsung, the world's largest memory-chip
maker, climbed 6.7 percent this month and Hynix, Asia's second largest, gained
4.2 percent as Microsoft said it would release Vista to corporate users on
November 30 and the general public in January after a two-year delay. The
Bloomberg Asia-Pacific Semiconductor Index of 17 companies rose 5.3 percent,
while the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index has dipped 0.1
percent.
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets says two-thirds of desktop
computers in the U.S., which accounted for 27 percent of worldwide shipments,
already have more than one gigabyte of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM.
"Demand for memory chips won't increase that much
even after Vista is released," said Song Myeong Seob, an analyst at CJ
Investment & Securities Co in Seoul who has "buy" recommendations on Samsung
and Hynix. "New computers already have pretty high density of memory."
Computer users switching to Vista may also shift more
slowly than when Windows XP was released in 2001, according to analysts at
Credit Suisse Group. About 29 percent of computers will have installed Vista in
two years after the launch, compared with 40 percent for Windows XP, Credit
Suisse said in a report in September.
"We do not expect an immediate pickup in Windows
Vista penetration in the first half next year and DRAM demand may not grow as
quickly," as Samsung hopes, Lee Do Hoon from Macquarie Securities Ltd, wrote in
a report last month.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
