Taiwan to allow investment in China's 300mm-wafer fabs, legitimize HeJian-report

TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - The Ministry of Economic Affairs is ready to allow local chipmakers to either set up 300mm-wafer fabrication plants in China or acquire such facilities in the mainland, and to adopt more advanced 90-nanometer technology there, the United Daily News reported.

A formal announcement is expected by the end of August, the newspaper cited an unnamed ministry official as saying.

Currently, Taiwan's chipmakers are permitted to build 200mm wafer plants and use technologies up to 0.18 micron in China.

President Ma Ying-jeou has indicated several times his support for allowing construction of 300mm-wafer fabs on the mainland and the US already lets its chipmakers undertake such projects there, the official said.

Separately, the official said United Microelectronics Corp (2303.TW) would secure the go-ahead to merge with China-based HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co Ltd.

Under Ma's predecessor, UMC's HeJian investment was deemed to have been made without regulatory approval.

philip.wang@afxasia.com