Taiwan's ASE to invest additional US$90 mln in mainland plant

Taiwan's Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE), the world's biggest microchip packager, will invest an additional US$90 million in its packaging and testing plant in Shanghai, in a bid to meet the surging demand in the fast-growing major economy.

The Taipei-based company has won approval from its board on the plan, according to its statement released late on Monday. It may raise fund for the expansion through a rights issue. ASE has invested around US$310.4 million in the mainland to date, accounting for 18.7% of its capital.

ASE, which got go-ahead for mainland-bound investment in February, disclosed it also plans to expand its business on memory chip packaging on the mainland. It generated record market revenue of US$3 billion in 2007, and expects a 20% increase this year.