ProAsia Semiconductor Corp (PASC, 積亞半導體) plans to invest NT$3 billion (US$107.63 million) to make chips using third-generation semiconductor materials at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), with an eye on the fast-growing electric vehicle, 5G and green energy markets, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.
ProAsia Semiconductor is a newly created subsidiary of Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor Corp (台亞半導體), a 30-year-old supplier of LED chips in Taiwan. Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor was formerly known as Optotech Corp (光磊科技) which made the renaming on Dec. 27 last year.
Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor’s board of directors in December approved a plan to indirectly invest NT$3.1 billion in ProAsia Semiconductor’s founding to make inroads into the new semiconductor material market.
ProAsia Semiconductor develops and makes MOSFET — metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors — and silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky diode modules, which are mainly used in electric vehicles, charging piles, smart grids and other auto parts, the ministry said in a statement.
“The company’s products have a technological advantage and good market potential, matching the world semiconductor industry’s pace in developing [third-generation semiconductors],” the ministry said. “The company is leveraging Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor’s LED chipmaking technology and Nichia’s compound semiconductor technology to make MOSFET and SiC.”
Nichia is to become a shareholder of ProAsia Semiconductor by subscribing to the Taiwanese firm's new shares, which would expand the latter's capital to NT$5 billion, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported.
ProAsia Semiconductor also reportedly plans to build a 6-inch fab to produce gallium nitride (GaN) on SiC chips.
With the rapid uptake of electric vehicles, 5G-related applications and virtual-reality devices, third-generation semiconductor materials — made of SiC and GaN — have recently drawn the attention of industry experts and the media.
Third-generation semiconductor materials possess better physical and chemical characteristics, while offering faster switching speed, higher efficiency and fast heat dissipation compared with first-generation materials (silicon) and second-generation gallium arsenide, or GaAs.
The investment from ProAsia Semiconductor was the largest among the 12 investment projects totaling NT$8.51 billion that received the green light from the ministry.
Msscorps Co (汎銓科技), which specializes in material analysis in the semiconductor sector, is to invest NT$466 million in Hsinchu, making it the second-biggest investment project approved by the ministry yesterday.
Iscom Online International Information Inc (采威國際), a software developer focusing on cloud-based platform, 5G technology and artificial intelligence technology, came next. The company plans to invest NT$400 million to set up a research and development center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區).
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) expects its addressable market to grow by a low single-digit percentage this year, lower than the overall foundry industry’s 15 percent expansion and the global semiconductor industry’s 10 percent growth, the contract chipmaker said yesterday after reporting the worst profit in four-and-a-half years in the fourth quarter of last year. Growth would be fueled by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, a moderate recovery in consumer electronics and an increase in semiconductor content, UMC said. “UMC’s goal is to outgrow our addressable market while maintaining our structural profitability,” UMC copresident Jason Wang (王石) told an online earnings
Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), the sole extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pod supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is aiming to expand revenue to NT$10 billion (US$304.8 million) this year, as it expects the artificial intelligence (AI) boom to drive demand for wafer delivery pods and pods used in advanced packaging technology. That suggests the firm’s revenue could grow as much as 53 percent this year, after it posted a 28.91 percent increase to NT$6.55 billion last year, exceeding its 20 percent growth target. “We usually set an aggressive target internally to drive further growth. This year, our target is to
The TAIEX ended the Year of the Dragon yesterday up about 30 percent, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電). The benchmark index closed up 225.40 points, or 0.97 percent, at 23,525.41 on the last trading session of the Year of the Dragon before the Lunar New Year holiday ushers in the Year of the Snake. During the Year of the Dragon, the TAIEX rose 5,429.34 points, the highest ever, while the 30 percent increase in the year was the second-highest behind only a 30.84 percent gain in the Year of the Rat from Jan. 25, 2020, to Feb.
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and
RSS