Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), the nation's second-largest maker of flat panels, won approval to invest US$30 million in building a liquid crystal display (LCD) assembly plant in China.
The Investment Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' approved the project, to be built in Ningbo city in eastern China, the regulator said in a statement issued yesterday on its Web site.
Chi Mei said on July 19 it was considering building a LCD assembly plant in China. The Tainan-based company had yet to decide the exact location of the plant, spokesman Eddie Chen (陳彥松) said.
Two of the Chi Mei's rivals, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), have already built module plants in China to benefit from cheaper labor costs and because Taiwanese notebook makers such as Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦). have moved their production lines there.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics on April 15 won approval from the government to invest in its first business in China. The government approved the panel maker's application to invest US$1 million to open a company in the eastern city of Ningbo to handle procurement and customer services.
The commission yesterday also approved 15 projects in China totaling US$257 million, including US$30 million by Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (
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