Wafer Works Corp (合晶科技), the world’s No. 6 silicon wafer supplier, is to invest NT$2.4 billion (US$81.41 million) to expand its 12-inch wafer capacity at an existing plant in the Longtan (龍潭) section of Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) to meet rising demand for chips used in vehicles, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Wafer Works in May 2019 received ministry approval for a NT$1.16 billion capacity expansion plan at its Longtan site, allowing the wafer maker to join the government’s Invest in Taiwan initiative, the ministry said in a statement.
The automotive sector accounted for 50 percent of Wafer Works’ total revenue of NT$10 billion last year, up from 37 percent in 2020, the company said.
Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei Times
Wafer Works plans to build a new smart wafer production line and add new cleanrooms to boost capacity, aiming to address surges in demand for 12-inch wafers, the statement said.
The project is expected to create 48 new jobs, it said.
As part of the new project, the company is to install solar power generation systems, and water and waste recycling facilities to reduce carbon emissions, the ministry said.
The company also operates 12-inch factories in Zhengzhou in China’s Henan Province and in Shanghai, supplying wafers to Chinese customers, the company said.
COVID-19 lockdowns in China have made it difficult for its Shanghai site to ship products, though production remains normal, it said.
Wafer Works’ revenue last month jumped 26.53 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.04 billion, primarily due to increased prices, the company said.
The company generated revenue of NT$3.05 billion last quarter, up 33 percent from NT$2.29 billion in the first quarter last year, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
The ministry said its latest data showed that the Invest in Taiwan initiative has drawn investment commitments from 1,190 companies totaling NT$1.68 trillion, with 133,554 local jobs expected to be created.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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