Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang will continue seeking legislative support for a government plan to lead the restructuring of Taiwan's troubled dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip industry, an official said Friday. 'Shih will deliver a report at the Legislative Yuan next Monday on the government's plan to invest in Taiwan Innovation Memory Co. (TIMC) and will also take advantage of the opportunity to brief lawmakers on the rationale for a DRAM sector overhaul, 'said Vice Economic Affairs Minister Hwang Jung-chiou. Taiwan's DRAM industry has been bleeding money over the past two years because of overcapacity and slumping demand. It boasts six of the world's top 10 DRAM manufacturers but holds a global market share of only 15 percent. In an effort to help local chip makers obtain core technologies and expand markets in the face of heavy competition from South Korean competitors, Taiwan's government devised the TIMC project earlier this year, under which the government would pool the resources of local DRAM companies and their foreign technology partners to develop even more sophisticated DRAM technologies. The Legislature's Economics Committee, however, passed a resolution last week demanding that the government give up its TIMC investment project and DRAM industry restructuring plan. They argued the government should not use taxpayer money to bail out private chip companies because the industry's business prospects have improved with a recent rebound in DRAM prices. 'As the legislative committee's resolution has not yet cleared the legislative floor, Shih will seek lawmakers' understanding on the rationale for the TIMC- centered DRAM industry restructuring plan, ' Hwang said. Stressing that the government's primary goal lies in its determination to help local makers secure core technologies and have high-end DRAM know-how take root in Taiwan to enhance their competitiveness, Hwang said the Executive Yuan has approved the proposal that the government-run National Development Fund invest NT$4.9 billion in TIMC on the condition that the company dedicate itself to developing innovative DRAM technologies in cooperation with foreign partners. 'Minister Shih will court legislative support for the TIMC investment plan in his Monday report,' Hwang said. Japan's Elpida Memory Inc., the world's third largest DRAM supplier, has agreed to invest in TIMC as it has teamed up with three Taiwanese DRAM makers -- Winbond, ProMOS Technologies and Powerchip Semiconductor. Nanya Technology and Inotera Memories (a joint venture of Nanya and U.S.-based Micron Technologies) form a competing camp in Taiwan based on the technology of the U.S. company. While the Ministry of Economic Affairs is endeavoring to keep the TIMC project alive, it has decided to stop screening applications by two other companies -- Powerchip and Taiwan Creative Lab -- for government investments in their DRAM technology development projects following the legislative committee's resolution, Hwang noted. 