ProMOS announces plans to construct US$900 million chip plant in China

ProMOS Technologies (茂德科技), Taiwan's second-largest memory-chip maker, said it is planning to build a US$900 million chip plant in China to tap demand in the world's second-largest market for personal computers.

The company plans to start production from the factory by the second half of 2006, ProMOS vice president Albert Lin (林育中) said, responding to a Dow Jones News-wires report. ProMOS hasn't requested permission from the government, he said.

ProMOS will be the second Taiwanese chipmaker to invest in China after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which last month got the green light from the government.

ProMOS will apply to remit US$350 million to China for the investment in accordance with Taiwan's regulations, Lin said. The rest of the investment would come from bank loans in China, he said.

The chip industry is Taiwan's largest industry, worth NT$818.8 billion (US$24.5 billion) last year, according to the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association.