The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday said it has approved 10 companies’ applications to invest NT$40.7 billion (US$1.47 billion) as part of the government’s Invest in Taiwan initiative.
Printed circuit board maker (PCB) Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子) applied for a second round of investment totaling NT$26 billion to add eight production lines in Hsinchu County to expand its flip-chip substrate capacity, the ministry said yesterday.
The company is expanding capacity to meet rising demand from 5G applications, consumer electronics and automotive components, the ministry said, adding that the investment would create 677 local jobs.
Photo: Win Semiconductors official Web site
The new project would bring Unimicron’s total investment to more than NT$50 billion, creating 1,300 jobs.
Unimicron first participated in the Invest in Taiwan initiative in 2019, investing in a Taoyuan plant. The company produces PCBs, high-density interconnection boards, flexible PCBs, rigid-flex PCBs and integrated circuit carriers, among others. Its customers include leaders in the semiconductor supply chain.
The Invest in Taiwan initiative encourages quality industrial investment in Taiwan from returning Taiwanese companies, as well as local firms looking to upgrade their production by providing the businesses with favorable loan terms and other means of support.
Win Semiconductors Corp (穩懋半導體), founded in October 1999 and the first pure-play 6-inch gallium arsenide (GaAs) foundry in the world, is participating in the “roots in Taiwan” category of the Invest in Taiwan program.
Also a returning participant, Win Semiconductors previously expanded its facilities in Taoyuan with the help of the program.
However, in anticipation of capacities running short, it is planning to invest NT$11 billion in the Kaohsiung section of Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) to build another 6-inch GaAs foundry. The wafers produced at the plant will serve mobile handset, wireless infrastructure and 3D laser detection needs.
Other applicants approved yesterday were local snack food conglomerate Imei Foods Co (義美食品), bicycle parts maker Super B Precision Tools Co (保忠精密工具), Hung Han Technology Corp (弘翰科技), Ren Yow Industrial Co (仁侑工業), Unlifa Co (允力發), Super B Precision Tools Co (保忠精密), Medserv Biotech Co (長寅科技), Shen Fa Xing Food Co (盛發興食品) and Global Green Material Co (豐溢綠能材料).
Since the program was implemented, the Invest in Taiwan initiative has attracted more than 1,100 businesses to return, reinvest or expand in the nation, pouring in NT$1.55 trillion in investments and creating 123,038 local jobs.
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below the US$600 billion mark at the end of last month, with the central bank reporting a total of US$596.89 billion — a decline of US$8.6 billion from February — ending a three-month streak of increases. The central bank attributed the drop to a combination of factors such as outflows by foreign institutional investors, currency fluctuations and its own market interventions. “The large-scale outflows disrupted the balance of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, prompting the central bank to intervene repeatedly by selling US dollars to stabilize the local currency,” Department of Foreign
Intel Corp is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc, Space Exploration Technologies Corp and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Intel would help the Terafab project “refactor” the technology in a chip factory, the company said on Tuesday in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform. That is a stage in the development process that typically helps make chips more powerful or reliable. The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to US$52.91 in New York trading on Tuesday. The Terafab project is a grand plan by Musk to eventually manufacture his own chips for
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to resume operations at two coal-fired power generators for three months to boost security of electricity supply as liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply risks are running high due to the Middle East conflict. The two coal-fired power generators are at Mailiao Power Plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). The plant, operated by Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), supplied electricity to Taipower’s power grid until the end of last year. Taipower’s decision came about one month after Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) on March 10 said that the nation had no imminent
RSS