AKT Inc, a leading supplier of chemical vapor deposition equipment for the flat-panel display industry, is holding a groundbreaking ceremony today for its manufacturing center at the Tainan Science Park, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said yesterday.
The investment is expected to create tens of billions in business opportunities, the official said.
AKT is a subsidiary of US-based Applied Materials Inc, the world’s largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
The ministry said AKT would invest about NT$2 billion (US$65.8 million) in the next two to three years, with NT$750 million being allocated for first-phase construction.
“AKT’s new investment means the company will be using Taiwan as a manufacturing center to ship its products to other countries,” said Chen Chao-yih (陳昭義), director general of the Industrial Development Bureau.
Following Taiwan’s success in the LCD equipment industry, the bureau is focusing on promoting the nation’s semiconductor and solar cell equipment industries.
Through local production of key equipment and components to replace imports, Taiwan’s semiconductor and panel suppliers could enjoy lower costs and enhance their global competitiveness, IDB said.
It estimated that local production of components and equipment for the semiconductor, flat panel display and solar cell industries could reach NT$250 billion by 2012.
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