Elpida Receives 2.1 Billion USD in Aid

Japan's troubled chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc. is set to receive around 200 billion yen (2.1 billion dollars) in public and private financial aid over three years, according to a newspaper report. Under the plan, the government-backed Development Bank of Japan will acquire preferred shares in the company, with the government effectively guaranteeing 80 percent of them, the Nikkei business daily said.

The government is expected to officially approve about 30 billion yen in capital for the chipmaker as early as next week, the newspaper reported. The DBJ separately plans to offer 10 billion yen in loans to Elpida, while the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, another government-run bank, will provide 20-30 billion yen in emergency loans, the Nikkei said.

A syndicate of Japan's three megabanks and others is slated to lend around 100 billion yen to Elpida, it said, adding that a public-private fund that supports innovation will also consider providing tens of billions of yen.

Elpida -- the world's third largest maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips used in mobile phones and home electronics -- has been hit hard by tough business conditions amid the global downturn. Japan's government launched a programme to support ailing companies in April, as Asia's biggest economy grapples with its worst recession since World War II.

More Japanese companies are expected to follow suit and ask for help.