GERMANY & TAIWAN: Qimonda AG, a leading memory solutions company, has signed an agreement with Macronix International Co. Ltd, Taiwan, on a joint development of non-volatile memory technologies.

The co-operation project will focus on the development of different kinds of non-volatile memory technologies over a five-year horizon. Both partners will share development costs and contribute engineering resources and know-how. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

While Qimonda is bringing in its 300mm based technology and non-volatile development expertise and resources, Macronix will contribute its extensive know-how in Flash technologies. The joint development will be conducted at Qimonda's lead R&D and 300mm manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany.

"Through the partnership with Macronix we will speed up in entering the fast growing non-volatile memory market", said Kin Wah Loh, CEO of Qimonda AG. "It will help us in strengthening our competitive position as a leading memory technology developer. We are delighted to have Macronix as our partner."

"Macronix is dedicated to developing non-volatile memories since its inception," added Miin Wu, Chairman and CEO of Macronix. "We are glad to have Qimonda as our reliable partner. We believe this strategic alliance with Qimonda will further enforce our commitment to always providing our customers with high performance, innovative non-volatile memories solutions."