Semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday overcame the first hurdle to build a NT$30 billion (US$948.6 million) manufacturing fab in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) after receiving approval from the Urban Development Bureau.
The Netherlands-based company aims to start operation of the new facility in 2026 at the earliest, the bureau said in a statement yesterday.
The new factory would house about 2,000 employees, when ASML completes the first-phase construction three years from now, the bureau said.
Photo: Bloomberg
ASML is the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography tools to Taiwanese manufacturers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), to produce advanced 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips.
ASML requires additional grants from the New Taipei City Government to go ahead with the company’s biggest investment in Taiwan, including passing an environmental impact assessment.
The city government said it would not be a time-consuming process as ASML’s new manufacturing fab would be in a redevelopment zone, supporting the city’s efforts to reach net zero emissions.
ASML’s new factory is to occupy 3.3 hectares of land. The factory aims to capture 12 tonnes of carbon a year by planting trees and adopting other approaches to reduce carbon emissions, the bureau said.
The city government aims to develop Linkou into a hub for artificial intelligence and smart technologies, with ASML being the first tech company to make Linkou its home, the bureau said.
The city plans to lure companies in the AI, 5G, big data and analytical areas to set up operations in Linkou, it added.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in