In case Elpida is unable to repay its debts due in April and goes insolvent, marking its exit from the DRAM industry, the consequences for not just the DRAM industry, but also the PC industry as a whole, will be huge, note industry observers. On the 15th, Eplida released a statement on the assumed going concern in the company with regards to its debt situation. The company has been unable to recover from its condition despite injections of capital backed by no less than the Japanese government.

Elpida has to repay nearly 40 billion JPY US ($505.8 million) to the government, and another 80 billion JPY (US $1.02 billion) in short-term bank loans. Frantic negotiates are on between the company and its long list of creditors that include the Japanese government and other banks to seek an interim relief from the default, even as the company searches for a cash-source that would alleviate the situation and make it survive. Elpida's situation is different from that of Qimonda, it's larger, has more technologies in the pipeline, and has recently set up 30 nm-class mass-production and is testing 20 nm-class production. In other words, it has much greater potential as a company that contributes to the industry, if it survives. Its exit will leave the industry imbalanced, and dominated by Korean DRAM makers such as Samsung and Hynix, and American Micron Technology, a step closer to oligarchical price-controls, observers note.