The massive earthquake that cut a swathe through Taiwan's information technology industry last month is causing many businesses to radically reappraise their investment policies.
At least two Taiwanese semiconductor companies have said they are exploring investment opportunities abroad to diversify risk away from the quake-prone island.
Winbond Electronics Co said Sunday it may not set up its sixth microchip plant in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park where it already has five other "wafer fabs," or wafer fabrication factories, as microchip plants are known.
"It's too risky to have all the wafer fabs in this industrial park," Winbond spokesman Chang Chih-yuan said.
"The pace of investing abroad is expected to be quickened after the killer quake," added Douglas Wang of Jardine Fleming Taiwan Securities Co.
"The earthquake may serve as a catalyst for outbound investment," he said. "After all market approximation is a global trend that is irreversible."
The microchip maker currently has two six-inch and two eight-inch wafer fabs in the high-tech park some 80km south of Taipei, which is the island's answer to Silicon Valley.
Since the quake, seismologists here have issued fresh quake warnings. There is particular concern over a faultline that runs along the edge of the industrial park.
"We may invest somewhere else in the world, but of course, the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park could also be taken into consideration," Chang said, referring to the second high-tech park in southern Taiwan.
"Now it may be premature to talk about the plan," Chang said, adding that "a feasibility study is underway."
Winbond is scheduled to embark on construction of the plant next year at an estimated cost of NT$80 billion (US$2.52 billion).
An official with the United Microelectronics Corp also said his company is "not ruling out the feasibility" of investing abroad, possibly in the US, Singapore and Europe.
The IT industry suffered revenue losses worth NT$7.45 billion (US$234.16 million) because of the quake, according to the Securities and Futures Commission.
As the two microchip makers mull diversifying their investments, Taiwan's largest computer-motherboard maker Asustek Computer has taken other precautionary methods.
Company spokesman Alex Lee said Asustek would apply for permission from Taiwan's investment commission to open two plants in mainland China to make printed circuit boards and computer cases.
"The recent power outage is the trigger. It reinforces the need to diversify our risks," said Lee, putting the total investment at around US$20 million.
In New Delhi, International Data Corp (IDC), an information technology research group, warned the quake could fracture the "supple" supply routes of computer hardware imports to India.
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
Taiwan’s property market is entering a freeze, with mortgage activity across the nation’s six largest cities plummeting in the first quarter, H&B Realty Co (住商不動產) said yesterday, citing mounting pressure on housing demand amid tighter lending rules and regulatory curbs. Mortgage applications in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung totaled 28,078 from January to March, a sharp 36.3 percent decline from 44,082 in the same period last year, the nation’s largest real-estate brokerage by franchise said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center (JCIC, 聯徵中心). “The simultaneous decline across all six cities reflects just how drastically the market
RSS