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 the floor space of ASE Malaysia to approximately 315,870m2, from 92.903m2, it said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
“Southeast Asia is increasingly becoming an important base for semiconductors, given its growing digital economy propelling demand for advanced chips and its shift toward design and chip manufacturing in the past few years,” ASE chief executive officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) said in the statement.
“With Malaysia solidifying its position as a regional semiconductor hub, we see our expanded facility playing an even greater role across the global semiconductor value chain and contributing to the country’s economic growth,” Wu said.
“ASE remains committed to being a driving force for the development of the local and regional semiconductor industry, while continuing to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of our customers,” he said.
A majority of ASE Malaysia’s capacity is used to make image sensors and power management chips for vehicles and industrial devices, while the new plant would build new image sensors for industrial or humanoid robots, the company said.
At home, ASE also plans to make new investments totaling US$200 million to build its first large-size panel-level packaging facility in Kaohsiung, Wu said.
The company is to start a pilot run of the production line in the third quarter this year, he said.
ASE’s capacity expansion at home and overseas is based on its positive demand forecast, it said.
ASE on Monday gave a favorable forecast for its business, riding on the global semiconductor industry’s growth trajectory.
By 2032, total semiconductor revenue is to reach US$1 trillion, with OSAT manufacturers playing a critical role in the global electronics supply chain, Wu said.
Chip packaging and testing service providers are to make up about 20 percent of global semiconductor revenue, an increase from 15 percent over the past decades, he said.
As chips become more advanced and complicated, more materials are required to package them, he said.
For the packaging and testing segment, ASE expects global revenue would surge to US$180 billion in 2029 from US$60 billion in 2019, he said.
Half of the market, or US$90 billion, would be for OSAT in 2029, presenting an enormous opportunity for ASE, which holds 20 to 30 percent of the world’s OSAT market, he added.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
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
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known
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
RSS