June 08, 2009
Taiwan IDB Makes Manufacturing Investments in China Far Easier
Taipei, June 6, 2009 (CENS)-Taiwan`s Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), has preliminarily relaxed considerably the existing restrictions on investments in China by Taiwanese manufacturers, notably those in semiconductor, FPD (flat panel display), and petrochemical industries, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News.
The proposal will be included in the review on investments by local manufacturers in China, scheduled to come out in July, with the IDB to review investment applications individually.
In principle, local semiconductor manufacturers will be allowed to set up 12-inch wafer fabs using 65 or higher nanometer technology, while TFT LCD (thin-film-transistor, liquid-crystal-display) firms can establish sub-8.5 generation plants in China. Presently, the former are only allowed to set up eight-inch wafer fab using 0.13 or higher micron technology, while TFT LCD makers are forbidden to invest in China.
However, an IDB official revealed that manufacturers in such lines must commit equal investments in Taiwan, and must own advantageous global market shares and competitiveness to be approved for investing in China.
Peng Shuang-lang, executive vice president of AU Optronics, the island`s leading FDP maker, welcomed the new policy, saying that the company`s will be the first Taiwanese FPD maker to set up plants in China, pointing to the huge demand there emerging as one of the three largest LCD TV markets worldwide.
Insiders noted, though, semiconductor foundries may not be too enthusiastic about setting up plants in China at the moment, due to their low capacity utilization rates amid the market downturn.
(by Philip Liu)
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