Networking chip designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱半導體) plans to invest about NT$7.2 billion (US$256.4 million) in Taiwan, in line with its development strategy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday.
The company’s investment is also a demonstration of the robust demand for semiconductors in the post-COVID-19 era, the ministry said in a statement.
Realtek, founded in 1987 at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), is a fabless semiconductor firm that focuses on chips used in products for communication networks, computer peripherals, and devices for multimedia and ultra-wideband communications.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The company plans to build a new office building at the Hsinchu Science Park and another at the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park (新竹生醫園區) in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) to accommodate IC designers, software and hardware researchers, laboratories and small-scale trial production bases, the ministry said.
Realtek’s investment is in line with its research and development (R&D) and operational needs, and comes as the Internet of Things, cloud computing and artificial intelligence have shown promising commercialization, it said.
Last month, memorychip packaging and testing service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) said it would invest NT$20 billion in a second production facility at the Hsinchu Science Park.
“Amid US-China trade tensions and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, chip products are in short supply, showing that Taiwan holds a key position in the global semiconductor supply chain,” the ministry said.
Realtek on Monday reported record revenue of NT$9.45 billion for last month, up 10.2 percent from May and up 55.46 percent from last year, while revenue in the first half of the year rose 47.84 percent annually to NT$49.18 billion.
Given robust demand across its product catalog and tight capacity along the supply chain, the company said that it was cautiously optimistic in its outlook for the second half of the year.
Realtek’s investment is expected to bolster the already strong R&D capacity of the domestic semiconductor industry, while creating 545 jobs, the ministry said.
Realtek was one of five local companies that the ministry approved last week to join the government’s three-year action plan for domestic investment, and one of 932 companies granted ministry approval — for a total of NT$1.27 trillion to be invested — since the government launched incentive programs at the beginning of 2019.
The firms’ investments are expected to provide 107,240 jobs, while another 55 firms wait for approval, the ministry said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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