The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it has approved four companies’ applications to invest more than NT$1.8 billion (US$59.6 million) as part of its program encouraging overseas Taiwanese businesses to invest back home.

AC/DC power charger and cable manufacturer Well Shin Technology Co (維熹科技) is to invest more than NT$700 million to expand the production capacity of its plant in Changhua County while introducing smart manufacturing equipment, the ministry said.

It is also to focus on developing smart power management solutions, as well as growing its Internet of Things home automation business, the ministry said, adding that the investment is to create more than 100 job opportunities.

Vacuum flask maker Sun-Upper Metal Industry Co (昶典工業) is to invest NT$300 million to expand its production facility in Yunlin County to meet customers’ demands, the ministry said.

It is also set up a smart vacuum production line, and a research and development center, creating an estimated 135 job opportunities, the ministry said.

Taiyi Photoelectric Technology Co (台亦科技), which supplies Costco Wholesale Corp, Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) and Pegatron Corp (和碩), among others, is to invest more than NT$400 million to expand its plant in Changhua’s Sioushuei Township (秀水) by setting up automated production lines and upgrading its optoelectronic equipment.

The project would provide 108 new jobs, the ministry said.

Frequency control solutions provider Aker Technology Co (安碁科技), which counts Magna International Inc, Jabil Inc and Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) among its top clients, plans to invest NT$400 million to expand its production capacity in Taiwan.

The company also plans to set up its headquarters and a production plant at the Taichung Export Processing Zone (臺中加工出口區), which would create 25 job opportunities, the ministry said.

The ministry also gave the green light to Magnate Technology Co’s (晟田科技) application to join its program to facilitate domestic investments.

The aerospace components manufacturer is to invest NT$70 million to expand its spray paint and chemicals production lines to meet increasing orders, it said.

Magnate Technology’s major customers include Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔), General Electric Co, Sumitomo Precision Products Co and Safran SA.

To date, the ministry has approved 283 companies’ applications to join its three programs to stimulate investment, with the companies pledging NT$835.1 billion in total.

SEVEN NANOMETERS: A SMIC customer presented a chip on its Web site, saying mass production at the company, sanctioned by the US, started in July last year Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) has likely advanced its production technology by two generations, defying US sanctions intended to halt the rise of China’s largest chipmaker. The Shanghai-based manufacturer is shipping bitcoin-mining semiconductors built using 7 nanometer technology, industry watcher TechInsights wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. That would be well ahead of SMIC’s established 14 nanometer technology, a measure of fabrication complexity in which narrower transistor widths help produce faster and more efficient chips. Since late 2020, the US has barred the unlicensed sale to the Chinese firm of equipment that can be used to fabricate semiconductors of 10 nanometers

Chip testing and packaging company Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) plans to invest NT$97.5 billion (US$3.26 billion) to build a new plant in Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾), creating a new semiconductor hub in the agricultural county, the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) said yesterday. The plant would generate NT$35.4 billion in annual revenue once it is fully utilized, the science park said in a statement. The facility, which is to cover 14.5 hectares, would create 2,800 jobs in the county, it said. “The latest project shows SPIL’s commitment to invest in Taiwan and demonstrates its determination to keep crucial

TEN-YEAR BAN: Chipmakers receiving subsidies under the US CHIPS Act are to have their China investments restricted, a condition that would apply to the firm’s Texas fab GlobalWafers Inc (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it would adhere to US regulations and subsidy conditions as it looks to build a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Texas, pending passage of a US bill to fund new chip facilities in the country. “Government regulation certainly is one of many factors we have to consider when making a new investment in a country,” GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told an online investors’ conference arranged by the Taipei Exchange. “If we enjoy a country’s subsidies, we will follow regulations,” she added. For security reasons, Washington is looking to restrict chipmakers that

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is selling its second US dollar bond issue since April, a deal that might offer clues about investor appetite at a time of growing uncertainties about the chip industry’s outlook. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is marketing a two-part offering, with initial price guidance set at 150 basis points above US Treasuries for the five-year tranche and 200 basis points for the 10-year portion, said people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity discussing a private matter. The sale is attracting attention after TSMC’s major client, Apple Inc, announced plans to slow hiring and spending growth