Interconnect solutions provider BizLink Holding Inc (貿聯控股) has pledged NT$3.2 billion (US$107.6 million) to launch new manufacturing facilities at the Tainan Technology Industrial Park (台南科技工業區), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The InvesTaiwan Service Center yesterday approved the Silicon Valley-based company’s application to participate in the government’s incentive program, the ministry said.
The announcement came as BizLink’s customers seek to adjust their global deployment strategies and diversity risks, it said.
Photo courtesy of BizLink Holding Inc
Founded in 1996, BizLink supplies cable assemblies, wire harnesses and high-speed transmission lines for use in vehicles, information technology products, electrical appliances and industrial devices, as well as medical, solar and telecom equipment. It is the sole supplier of wiring harnesses for battery management systems in Tesla Inc’s Model 3 electric vehicles.
The company plans to establish production lines for high-end automotive and medical products at the Tainan plant, and the investment is expected to create 836 job opportunities, the ministry said.
In addition to meeting environmental building standards at the new plant, BizLink plans to install a solar power generation system on the roof and adopt high-efficiency energy-saving equipment for its manufacturing facilities, it said.
BizLink operates 17 production sites around the world and had about 12,316 employees as of October last year, company data showed.
InvesTaiwan also approved plans by three other companies to establish or expand their manufacturing facilities in the nation. They are Rising Chemical Co (立新化工), Ziolite Precision Corp (兆磊精密) and Taiwan Head Brewers Brewing Co (臺灣比爾文化), the ministry said.
The four companies are to invest a combined NT$4 billion, it added.
Rising Chemical, the only listed coating company in the nation, mainly produces nano-scale pigment dispersions for LCD photoresists, nano-color pastes and functional inks.
To diversify its product line and meet environmental safety regulations, the company plans to invest NT$300 million to build a new plant and warehouse at the Southern Taiwan Science Park’s (南部科學工業園) branch campus in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹), the ministry said.
Ziolite Precision, a supplier of components for CNC milling machines and mechanical structure covers for industrial equipment, plans to invest NT$200 million to build new factories in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township (竹南), while Taiwan Head Brewers, which makes craft beer, plans to launch new production lines in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重), it said.
The “Invest in Taiwan” initiative has to date attracted 1,207 companies to invest more than NT$1.7 trillion in Taiwan, with 20 applications pending review, it said.
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