The Japanese government yesterday approved ￥774 billion (US$6.8 billion) in funding for domestic semiconductor investment, backing up Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s commitment to make the nation a major global provider of essential computer chips.
The package, part of an extra budget for this fiscal year that the Cabinet approved yesterday, consists of three parts: ￥617 billion to fund domestic investment into cutting-edge chip manufacturing production capacity, ￥47 billion for legacy production such as analog chips and power management parts, and ￥110 billion for the research and development of next-generation silicon.
Tokyo is to spend part of the ￥617 billion package on a planned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co-Sony Group Corp plant in Kumamoto Prefecture.
While the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has not elaborated on the exact amount that is to be used for the project, it has said it would pay “up to half” of the total investment needed for a project in this category.
For legacy chip production, aid for up to one-third of the total capital expenditure would be provided, the ministry said.
The approved budget is just the beginning of increased investment in the sector, with Japan’s ruling party and government making it a priority to support companies beefing up semiconductor production.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS