Chunghwa Telecom Co (CHT, 中華電信) yesterday announced a NT$300 million (US$10.53 million) investment in Kaohsiung’s Asia New Bay Area (亞洲新灣區) along with 13 corporate partners to build information and communications technology (ICT), and 5G infrastructure in the area.
The investment is also aimed at developing new applications for 5G as part of the 5G AIoT (artificial intelligence of things) International Alliance, which the Kaohsiung City Government initiated on Nov. 30 last year, comprising the city government, some central government agencies, technology companies and telecoms.
Chunghwa Telecom was the first among the nation’s telecoms to obtain a 5G license from the government. It launched its 5G services on July 1 last year.
Photo: CNA
Chunghwa Telecom chairman Sheih Chi-mau (謝繼茂) told a news conference in Kaohsiung that its new investment would create more than 500 jobs over the next three years.
The project is a key part of Kaohsiung’s digital transition and would “let the world see Taiwan’s 5G capabilities,” Sheih said.
According to the company’s plan, Chunghwa Telecom would build a fiber-optic network in the Asia New Bay Area, construct cloud servers and create a 5G private network in the next three years.
The area would be a testing ground for new 5G applications, such as smart manufacturing, artificial reality/virtual reality, drone deliveries and other new applications, the company said.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that Chunghwa Telecom’s expertise with ICT would help Kaohsiung maximize its metropolitan capability.
“We hope Chunghwa Telecom will help push Kaohsiung’s digital transition and diversified industrial development forward, and accelerate the city’s development toward becoming a 5G smart port city,” Chen said.
Chunghwa Telecom’s 13 corporate partners include Microsoft Corp, Coretronic Corp (中光電), Jorjin Technologies Inc (佐臻), GoodLinker Co (谷林運算), Askey Computer Corp (亞旭電腦), Linker Networks Inc (寶蘊凌科), Techman Robot (達明機器人), iStaging Corp (愛實境) and WiAdvance Technology Co (緯謙科技).
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