Air Liquide Far Eastern Ltd (ALFE, 亞東工業氣體) is to invest NT$4 billion (US$138.84 million) to build a production facility at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
ALFE yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility, which would produce highly pure industrial gasses for high-tech businesses at the park.
Founded in 1987 as a joint venture between France’s Air Liquide SA and Far Eastern New Century Group (遠東新世紀集團), ALFE is making the largest investment by a French manufacturer in Taiwan, the ministry said.
Air Liquide operates across 80 countries, and has centers in Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan to supply pure gasses and advanced materials to the electronics industry.
ALFE president Olivier Blachier said at the ceremony that the company provides a “total solution” for industrial and medical clients.
The new facility is part of the government’s “Invest in Taiwan” initiative, which provides assistance and favorable loan terms for qualifying projects.
“The goal of the InvesTaiwan Service Center is to accelerate the timeline of Taiwanese investments,” the ministry said in a statement. “By continuing to attract foreign investment and accelerating the research and development of semiconductor production, we ensure Taiwan’s semiconductor industry maintains a global advantage.”
The center also said that Chenghai Metallurgy Corp (承化實業) would invest NT$400 million to build smart factories in Miaoli County’s (苗栗) Toufen Township (頭份).
Chenghai Metallurgy has been “perfecting powder metallurgy processes for more than 30 years,” the ministry said.
Chenghai counts Honda Motor Co, Intai Technology Corp (鐿鈦科技) and Taiwan Fu Hsing Industry Co (台灣福興工業) among its clients, and is the only powder metallurgy company in Taiwan that has production facilities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and in Southeast Asia, it said.
So far 725 companies have participated in the initiative, accounting for more than NT$1.1 trillion in investment and creating 95,819 jobs in Taiwan, the ministry said, adding that 53 projects are awaiting assessment for participation.
RECORD BUDGET: TSMC does plan to raise its proposed capital expenditure a lot, and could benefit if Intel outsources more of its production to foundries, analysts said Intel Corp’s earnings conference call on Thursday is expected to clarify the US semiconductor giant’s outsourcing production plans, which would be crucial regarding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) performance, analysts said. “TSMC stands to benefit if Intel outsources more of its fabrication to foundries,” SinoPac Securities Investment Service Corp (永豐投顧) analysts said in a note on Friday. Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) was more cautious, saying that Intel’s contribution initially would be limited, but its outsourcing plans would still highlight TSMC’s leadership in technology, it added. “Intel will continue to manufacture server or high-end central processing units [CPUs], which have higher
MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday announced it would give incentive bonuses totaling NT$1.7 billion (US$59.7 million) to its employees and those at the firm’s major subsidiaries, after the smartphone chip supplier’s revenue hit US$10 billion last year. This is the biggest incentive bonus the Hsinchu-based handset chip designer has ever distributed in its 23-year history. About 17,000 full-time employees of MediaTek and five of its subsidiaries, including Richtek Technology Corp (立錡科技) and Airoha Technology Corp (絡達科技), would receive a “red envelope” of NT$100,000 each, the company said. “Surpassing US$10 billion is just the beginning. We will continue to [grow] on this basis,” MediaTek
TO SPUR REVENUE: The contract chipmaker expects its profit to grow 15 percent this year, outpacing the foundry industry’s projected advance of about 10 percent Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday raised its projected capital spending for this year by 62 percent, a new high, in an attempt to satisfy customer demand for advanced technologies in the production of central processing units, high-performance-computing (HPC) devices and 5G applications. After investing US$17.24 billion last year, TSMC this year plans to spend US$25 billion to US$28 billion on manufacturing equipment and new facilities, including a fab in the US. About 80 percent of the budget would be allocated for developing advanced technologies including 3, 5 and 7-nanometer technologies, the company said. The larger-than-expected capital spending prompted speculation
Norway’s oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world’s wealthiest countries, but its dreams for deep-sea discovery now center on something different. This time, Oslo is looking for a leading role in mining copper, zinc and other metals found on the seabed and in hot demand in green technologies. The country could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said, potentially placing it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar farms. However, that could also place it on the front line of
RSS