Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s biggest chip tester and packager, yesterday said that it plans to invest US$70.5 million in a joint venture with Qualcomm Inc to develop and produce system-in-a-package (SiP) modules in Brazil.
The modules would be used in Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smartphones, ASE said in a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The investment will be made in three stages via its Shanghai-based subsidiary, Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co Ltd (USI, 環旭電子), ASE said in the filing.
In a joint statement released yesterday, Qualcomm said its fully owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies Inc, has signed an agreement with USI to form the joint venture.
The agreement formalizes the non-binding memorandum of understanding signed by the two parties in March last year with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications, the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services and Investe Sao Paulo, representing the Sao Paulo State Government, the statement said.
The new entity would focus on the installation of a semiconductor module facility in Sao Paulo dedicated to the design, development and fabrication of modules and components for smartphones and IoT devices in Brazil.
The flagship products of the joint venture would be a line of SiP modules powered by Qualcomm’s chipsets, the statement said.
The modules would include the radio frequency and digital components for smartphones and IoT devices, it said.
“Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America with a significant growth potential for integrated modules. USI will be utilizing the technological competence of its parent company, ASE, to help build up the semiconductor cluster in Brazil and Latin America,” USI president C.Y. Wei (魏鎮炎) said in the statement.
“We are excited to be a part of this joint venture that could help boost local employment in the next five years,” he said.
The joint venture is likely to be set up in the state of Sao Paulo. Assuming successful formation, the joint venture is expected to start manufacturing the modules in 2020.
ASE’s SiP business last year grew 42 percent annually, its best growth performance yet, thanks to the company’s efforts to optimize product portfolio.
Shares of ASE plunged 3.3 percent to close at NT$39.5 yesterday as the TAIEX tumbled 4.95 percent following Wall Street’s dramatic fall of 4.6 percent.
A total of 29.60 million ASE shares were traded during the session.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS