The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday approved ChipMOS Technologies Inc’s (南茂科技) NT$15.1 billion (US$486.47 million) plan to expand its capacity at home, joining 141 other manufacturers moving production back to Taiwan.
The packaging and testing service provider for memory chips and display driver ICs decided to accelerate its capacity expansion for driver ICs used in display panels and DRAM packaging capacity at its Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學工業園區) and Hsinchu County’s Jhubei (竹北) plants in a bid to minimize the impact from the US-China trade dispute and take advantge of diverted orders, the ministry said.
The capacity expansion is also aimed at satisfying rapidly growing demand from automotive and 5G-related devices, and rising demand for the integrated solution that combines driver ICs and touch ICs into one, the ministry’s statement said.
The investment would help ChipMOS increase its advantage over its Chinese competitors and safeguard its position as the world’s No. 2 display driver IC manufacturer, the ministry said.
ChipMOS’ investment would create 391 jobs, the ministry said.
Skincare and nutritional products maker TCI Co Ltd’s (大江生醫) plan to invest NT$3.3 billion was also greenlit by the ministry.
As the US remains the largest market for nutritional products, TCI plans to move part of its production lines back to Taiwan to meet clients’ needs and avoid uncertainties stemming from the trade dispute, the ministry said.
The company, headquartered in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), plans to build an environmentally friendly factory in Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park (屏東農業生物科技園區) to produce mainly functional drinks and their ingredients, the statement said.
The new plant would create 110 jobs, the ministry said.
As of yesterday, 142 companies have pledged to invest a total of NT$611.1 billion since the beginning of the year, which would create 52,778 jobs, it added.
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