az_adjs(6,'4b57bd9'); ![](http://www.teligo-ads.de/v3/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=997&campaignid=625&zoneid=6&source=&block=0&capping=0&session_capping=0&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.finanznachrichten.de%2Fnachrichten-2008-12%2F12655997-update-1-germany-not-ruling-out-qimonda-aid-source-020.htm&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.finanznachrichten.de%2Fnachrichten-aktien%2Fqimonda.asp&cb=f45080d3c8) document.context='YTowOnt9'; BERLIN, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Germany's federal government has no plans to provide aid to loss-making chipmaker Qimonda (News) at present, but is not ruling it out in the future, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday. 'There are no concrete plans at the moment,' the source said. 'But we can't rule anything out for the future either.' The state of Saxony, has said it would be willing to help Qimonda with a 150 million euro ($210.2 million) loan only if reluctant parent Infineon contributed the same amount. Infineon has said the state's requirements were beyond its abilities. Qimonda, spun off from Infineon two years ago, employs about 3,200 staff at a factory in the state capital, Dresden. The company said this month it faced a cash crunch by early next year if it did not find a new investor. Infineon has said it had offered to provide a loan in combination with the sale of a substantial package of Qimonda shares to the state of Saxony. The company said this was as far as it could go, although it also said it was still open to further negotiations with Saxony. Many semiconductor makers, particularly makers of DRAM memory chips used in PCs, expanded production aggressively over the past few years, hoping to gain market share even at the expense of frequent financial losses in the cyclical industry. Qimonda, like its competitors, is struggling with a slump in prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, used mainly in PCs, and has tried to compensate with strict cost-cutting measures and job cuts. Prices for memory chips have slumped to all-time lows as supply outstrips demand, helping cash-strapped gadget makers push prices ever downwards. ($1=.7137 Euro) |