Kingston Technology has agreed to act as a guarantor for ProMOS Technologies' application for a syndicated loan of NT$5 billion (US$148 million) from nine local banks, according to industry sources. Kingston has agreed to guarantee NT$1.5-2 billion of the loan in support of the cash-strapped DRAM maker.

The loan is expected to help ProMOS redeem its euro convertible bonds (ECBs) by the February 14 deadline, the sources said. ProMOS has said via a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on February 3 that the company's NT$5 billion loan application was being evaluated by the banks, which required ProMOS to collateralize its production equipment and to find guarantors. The company did not reveal further details.