Memorychip maker Macronix International Co (旺宏) plans to invest NT$8.5 billion (US$286.6 million) in Taiwan to diversify risk while upgrading equipment at its 12-inch wafer fab in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Thursday.
The company, which supplies read-only memory chips to Japan’s Nintendo Co, also plans to introduce big data and artificial intelligence analytics tools into its manufacturing process to enhance yield rate, as well as continue to research and develop 192-layer 3D NAND flash memory chips, the ministry said in a statement.
Macronix is likely to benefit from the so-called stay-at-home economy, which has boosted sales of Nintendo Switch game consoles and generated better-than-expected demand for servers, notebook computers, tablets, Internet communications and medical equipment, in addition to steady demand for 5G devices and smartphones, it said.
The investment in advanced memorychip technology would help strengthen the company’s international competitiveness, the ministry said, adding that the project would create 90 job opportunities.
The ministry also approved an application from Calin Technology Co (佳凌科技), one of the nation’s leading optical lens module makers, to invest NT$800 million at its plant in the Taichung Export Processing Zone (臺中加工出口區), which would create 100 job opportunities, the ministry said.
Calin plans to establish automated production lines and install high-end optical equipment at the plant, as the company aims to explore business opportunities in new products related to automotive, healthcare, epidemic prevention and medical diagnosis, it said.
The ministry said that six other small and medium-sized enterprises also pledged to invest a combined NT$1.1 billion in the domestic market — Hippo Valve Co (河馬閥門), Scan Top Enterprise Co (金頂實業), Chin-Min Mold Processing Co (勤敏模具), EasTech Chemical Co (麗群化工), Sheng Hung Technology Co (盛鴻光電) and Yucheng Food Co (御正食品).
As of Thursday, the government’s three major investment programs, which provide incentives to companies to invest domestically, had attracted 537 firms to pledge a total of NT$1.039 trillion in Taiwan, providing up to 86,620 job opportunities, the ministry said.
Another 43 companies are waiting for the government to approve their applications, it added.
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