Haier Group (海爾), China's biggest household-appliance maker, is in talks with Charoen Pokphand Group to build a silicon wafer plant in the port city of Qingdao in eastern China, Haier President Yang Mianmian (楊綿綿) said.
Yang said a Charoen Pokphand statement on Feb. 11, denying a ChinaNews Web site report of their joint plan to build a US$270 million plant, referred to details of the venture, not the plan itself.
Charoen, an investment group owned by one of Thailand's richest families, owns the Lotus Superstore retail chain in China and is one of the biggest foreign investors in China.
"Charoen Pokphand Group wouldn't have made a hasty decision to invest in such a project unless they are sure of their prospects," Yang said.
The demand for semiconductors in China is expected to surge to 77 billon chips worth US$24.2 billion in 2005, from 21.5 billion chips worth about US$10 billion in 2000, according to estimates by the country's Ministry of Information Industry.
Yang declined to give details about its proposed plant with Charoen Pokphand, except to say, "We have given them our word we will be part of this."
Charoen Pokphand will own up to 60 percent of the plant, which will make 8-inch chip wafers used in computers and home appliances, the ChinaNews Web site said in its report last month.
Production may reach 30,000 chips a month when the plant is ready, ChinaNews reported, without citing anyone.
Haier makes refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and cellular phones in China. It sells products in Japan through a tie-up with Sanyo Electric Co and sells in Taiwan by allying with Sampo Corp (
Charoen's businesses include agriculture, telecommunications, food, petrochemicals and real estate. The company was early investor in China, starting in 1979. It owns the US$400 million, 762,000m2 Super Brand Mall, China's biggest shopping center, in Shanghai.
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