A successful merger with these Taiwanese companies is not a pre-requisite for Elpida to get funds from the Japanese government, the Elpida spokesman stressed. "These are two separate discussions." However, he added, Elpida clearly sees such merger talks amid the global recession "an opportunity for industry reorganization" to turn Elpida into the world's leading memory vendor. Government aid in this effort certainly couldn't hurt. The recent fall of Qimonda also means one less competitor for the DRAM industry to worry about, and less angst about DRAM overproduction and price erosion on the market.