Two European firms — Merck KGaA and BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH — are interested in expanding the scope of their business and investment in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The two firms signed letters of intent with Ling Chia-yuh (凌家裕), director-general of the ministry’s Department of Investment Services, when he visited France and Germany last week.
Merck, a German pharmaceutical and chemical company with about 40,000 employees in 67 countries, is hoping to join hands with Taiwanese panel manufacturers in developing organic light- emitting diode (OLED).
“Merck is concerned about the high costs of developing OLED panels and it agreed with the ministry’s view that it could start by collaborating with [manufacturers of] smaller-sized panels as their costs are lower,” Ling said by telephone.
This will also be beneficial to Taiwanese firms, as Merck is a leader in the OLED field and can help local companies close the technology gap.
However, Merck did not say which companies it plans to work with, or whether it would set up a joint-venture firm to produce OLED panels, he said.
The details still have to be ironed out, he added.
Merck is represented in Taiwan by Merck Display Technologies Ltd, which conducts research and development for Merck’s global LCD division and provides Taiwan with locally produced liquid crystal mixtures, as well as products such as displays, lighting and photovoltaic materials.
Meanwhile, BSH is interested in expanding its business in Taiwan by adding more outlets.
The home appliances maker is impressed with the local market’s prospects and plans to open more outlets to cope with rising demand.
Euromonitor International’s data showed that BSH had the largest market share of dishwashers in Taiwan, with retail sales last year reaching NT$48 million (US$1.6 million).
BSH is the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide. Its main brands are Bosch and Siemens, and it comprises about 70 companies in 46 countries, with about 43,000 employees.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
RSS