ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投資控股) yesterday said its subsidiary has agreed to sell a 20 percent stake in its Chinese chip packaging and testing subsidiary to Chinese firm Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuits Co (晉華集成電路) for US$22.5 million.
Fujian Jinhua is to subscribe to new shares issued by Siliconware Precision Industries Co’s (SPIL, 矽品精密) Chinese subsidiary, Siliconware Electronics (Fujian) Co (矽品電子福建), according to a statement submitted by ASE, the world’s biggest chip tester and packager, to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Siliconware Electronics (Fujian) would see its share capital increase to US$112.5 million after the share sale, the statement said.
The Chinese semiconductor firm does not rule out making further equity investments, it said.
“The strategic alliance should help [the company] secure stable orders,” ASE said.
The deal — which does not need to be approved by Taiwanese regulators — also aims to deepen its partnerships with its client, it said.
Fujian Jinhua is not SPIL’s first Chinese strategic partner.
Early this year, SPIL sold a 30 percent share of another Chinese subsidiary, Siliconware Technology (Suzhou) Co (矽品科技蘇州), to Tsinghua Unigroup (清華紫光) for about 1.03 billion yuan (US$148.3 million) to expand its presence in the world’s biggest semiconductor market.
Siliconware Electronics (Fujian) aims to provide chip packaging and testing services for memory and logic chipmakers in neighboring areas, which include Fujian Jinhua and United Microelectronics Co (UMC, 聯電).
UMC operates a chipmaking subsidiary, United Semiconductor (Xiamen) Co (聯芯), in Fujian Province, China.
UMC is also providing research and development consultancy services for Fujian Jinhua to build DRAM manufacturing technology.
The project is entering the final stage, paving the way for the Chinese chipmaker to start volume production, UMC said on Wednesday.
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