The Investment Commission yesterday approved memorychip tester and packager Powertech Technology Inc’s (力成科技) planned investment of ¥9.02 billion (US$80.97 million) to acquire a stake in Tera Probe Inc from Micron Technology Inc.
“Powertech’s planned investment in Tera Probe could help the Taiwanese firm expand its production base to Japan and grow its position there,” commission Executive Secretary Emile Chang (張銘斌) said by telephone.
Powertech on April 14 announced it would invest at least US$86 million in two Japanese chip tester and packagers in an attempt to gain shares in the fast-growing Internet of Things and automotive markets in Japan.
Powertech also agreed to buy Micron’s 100 percent stake in Micron Akita Inc, the US company’s plant in Japan, and take over most of its clients there, Powertech said.
The commission has yet to receive an application for those investments, Chang said.
The commission also approved Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc’s (ASE, 日月光半導體) request to inject US$20 million into its subsidiary in Weihai, China, via the firm’s subsidiary in South Korea in a bid to grow its sales and market share of discrete packages there, Chang said.
ASE’s accumulative investment in its Weihai subsidiary has reached more than US$150 million, he added, citing the commission’s data.
In related news, Chang said the commission rejected a Chinese businessman’s planned investment of up to US$10 million in an unlisted Taiwanese mobile game distributor, as Chinese firms are not allowed to invest in Taiwan’s game industry.
Although the businessman said it would be a personal investment, the Ministry of Economic Affair’s Industrial Development Bureau discovered that the man represented a Chinese mobile game company and would therefore infringe on Taiwan’s regulations, Chang said.
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