Sat, Jul 04, 2026 page9

• Greatek to buy Philippine chip unit

  REGIONAL GAMBIT: Powertech’s subsidiary plans to acquire ON Semiconductor’s local operation for US$45m, adding Southeast Asian testing and packaging capacity

  • By Lisa Wang / Staff Reporter
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  Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技), the world’s largest memorychip testing and packaging service provider, yesterday said it plans to acquire the entire Philippine unit of ON Semiconductor Japan Holdings Ltd for US$45 million as part of efforts to navigate global supply chain realignment amid escalating geopolitical risks.

  The transaction will be conducted by its subsidiary Greatek Electronics Inc (超豐), a provider of logic chip packaging and testing services. Powertech holds a 43 percent stake in Greatek.

  “This move is a core component of the company’s mid-to-long-term growth strategy and directly aligns with major customers’ “Taiwan Plus One” approach to diversify their sourcing in recent years,” Greatek said in a company statement yesterday.

  

  Powertech Technology Inc chairman Tsai Du-kung speaks at a news conference in Hsinchu on Oct. 24, 2023.

  Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times

  Building comprehensive chip packaging and testing capacity in Southeast Asia will help mitigate the concentration risk of relying on a single manufacturing site, the statement said. It would also help improve Greatek’s order flexibility and capacity allocation for customers, it said.

  The new facility will also allow the company to provide real-time customer service, it said.

  The target company, ON Semiconductor SSMP Philippines Corp, provides chip packaging and testing services using its own capacity. It has also built a technical team with local management experience, the statement said.

  The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, Greatek said. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval from competition authorities, the statement said. ON Semiconductor SSMP Philippines Corp is to be renamed Greatek Electronics Philippines Corp upon completion of the transaction, it said.

  Powertech said it has received invitations from multiple countries to build manufacturing facilities in recent years, but the company has taken a cautious approach to expanding overseas, given its limited financial capacity and engineering resources.

  Powertech chairman Tsai Du-kung (蔡篤恭) made the remarks during an investors’ conference in April in response to a question about whether Powertech would consider expanding its global footprint to help customers deal with rising geopolitical tensions.

  “Unless customers are committed to collaborating with us, in addition to [strong government] incentives, we will not easily activate overseas investment to build advanced chip packaging and testing capacity,” Tsai said in April.

  Geographically, Singapore and Japan could be among the potential options, he said at the time.

  Two years ago, Powertech was deeply concerned about the necessity of building capacity outside Taiwan as requested by customers, given high costs and operational risks, Tsai said.

  Customers then realized that it would be a major challenge to move advanced chip packaging and testing technology and capacity to a foreign site, he said.

  Since then, customers’ calls for offering alternative capacity outside Taiwan have softened, Tsai said.

  Powertech stressed that Taiwan remains its priority for investment in advanced technologies. This year, the company plans to allocate NT$50 billion to new facilities and equipment.
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