German-based tech giant Merck Group on Tuesday announced that it will invest NT$17 billion (US$612 million) in Taiwan over the next five to seven years to tap the booming global semiconductor industry.
The project, which will be the largest investment in Taiwan by the company, will seek to develop its electronics business in the country, focusing on production expansion and research and development into new semiconductor materials in Kaohsiung, the biggest city in southern Taiwan, Merck said.
The latest investment project, which is part of the company's Level Up initiative, is expected to create about 400 new job openings in Taiwan and double its talent pool in the semiconductor business in the country, Merck added.
In September, the company unveiled the "Level Up" growth program, in which Merck's electronics business aims to grow organically by 3-6 percent a year from 2021-2025.
In an online speech at the press conference where the company announced the investment plan, Merck CEO Kai Beckmann said Taiwan has more than 60 percent of the global pure play wafer foundry market which cements its status as an indispensable part of the industry.
Merck aims to create a strong supply chain in the semiconductor industry with research and development, production, engineering and talent cultivation in focus in Taiwan, Beckmann said.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (???) said Merck is expected to build a plant in the city's Lujhu District, and added that the investment will involve the German company setting up a semiconductor ecosystem with Kaohsiung as one of its most important production hubs.
Merck Taiwan Chairman Lee Chun-lung (???) said the company currently runs production sites in Kaohsiung's Lujhu, Tainan, Hsinchu and Taoyuan, and the new plant in Kaohsiung will target customers in the city as well as other clients in neighboring Asian markets.
The new investment will give Taiwan an integrated semiconductor material production site with a comprehensive product portfolio, a production model that is likely to cut carbon emissions and conserve water, Lee said.
The Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau is expected to help Merck set up the new production site with an area of more than 15 hectares, Lee added.
Merck's Level Up program is being carried out in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China, which already serve as major semiconductor suppliers.
Before Merck's announcement on Tuesday, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract chipmaker, unveiled a plan in November to build a wafer fab in Kaohsiung, using its 7nm and 28nm processes.
Construction of the Kaohsiung plant is scheduled to begin in 2022 and mass production is expected to start in 2024.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel