Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密), the nation’s second-largest chip packager and tester, on Friday said that it plans to issue up to US$500 million in overseas convertible bonds.
The company said its board had approved the bond sale proposal, which is aimed primarily at raising funds to purchase raw materials from overseas for production and to repay part of its long-term debt.
Siliconware chairman Bough Lin (林文伯) has forecast that the second half of the year will see an improvement on the first for the global semiconductor industry as many international consumer electronics brands, including Apple Inc, are expected to launch new products.
Siliconware has also increased its planned capital expenditure for this year from NT$14.7 billion (US$491.18 million) to NT$18 billion in order to meet rising demand.
According to the company’s latest financial statement, its long-term debt as of June was NT$12.01 billion, down from NT$15.36 billion at the end of December last year.
Siliconware posted NT$7.01 billion in consolidated sales for last month, down 5.13 percent from July, but up 7.65 percent year-on-year, with cumulative sales for the first eight months of the year rising by an annual 23.43 percent to NT$54.38 billion.
The bonds are expected to mature in five years and carry a coupon rate of zero percent.
US-based JPMorgan Securities PLC and Taiwan’s Yuanta Securities Co (元大寶來證券) will serve as the underwriters of the bond sale.
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