Demand for AI and HPC is heating up. ASE is expanding production and deploying Nanke high-end packaging and testing.

ASE invested in the Tainan Park of Nanda to strengthen the cluster of advanced packaging industries and drive the development of Tainan's semiconductor industry. (File photo)

[Reporter Wang Shuxiu/Tainan Report] ASE Semiconductor, the world's leading semiconductor packaging and testing leader, passed the review of the "Welcome Taiwanese Businessmen to Return to Taiwan Investment Action Plan" by the Investment Taiwan Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs this week, and plans to invest 123.7 billion yuan to add smart production lines in Tainan City and Kaohsiung City to expand high-end packaging and testing production capacity. This investment plan covers Southern Taiwan’s Tainan Park, reflecting the continued growth in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), driving major semiconductor manufacturers to accelerate their deployment in the advanced packaging and testing field, and further strengthening the development momentum of southern Taiwan’s semiconductor industry cluster and supply chain.

Mayor Huang Weizhe said that Tainan has a complete semiconductor industry foundation. The continued development of advanced manufacturing processes and high-end packaging technology will drive the expansion of investment in the upstream and downstream supply chains. ASE's inclusion of the Nantech Tainan Park in its production expansion layout demonstrates the company's confidence in the development prospects of the southern semiconductor industry, and will also help strengthen Tainan's industrial links in advanced manufacturing, packaging and testing, and related supply chains. The city government will continue to cooperate with the central government and the Nanjing Administration of Science and Technology to improve the industrial investment environment, assist enterprises in implementing investment plans, and promote industrial upgrading and employment opportunities.

Director of Economic Development Zhang Tingyuan pointed out that in recent years, driven by the continued investment of major semiconductor companies such as TSMC, Tainan has formed an industrial cluster covering wafer manufacturing, packaging and testing, equipment and material suppliers. ASE's further expansion of high-end packaging and testing production capacity in the Tainan Park of Southern Science and Technology is expected to promote cooperation between upstream and downstream industries and enhance the competitiveness of the overall semiconductor supply chain. The city government continues to help companies eliminate investment obstacles through a single window for investment services and a major investment reporting mechanism, and conducts cross-agency coordination on industrial land, water and electricity supply, and related administrative needs. So far, the city's enterprises have passed the "Three Major Investment Plans for Taiwan" 283 cases, with an investment amount of approximately NT$404.8 billion and an estimated 23,698 job opportunities.

ASE Semiconductor’s investment this time will introduce AI and big data analysis technology, integrate automation, highly heterogeneous machinery and equipment, and microsystem packaging, comprehensively promote the intelligent digital transformation of factories, improve production processes and operational management, and improve production efficiency and product yields. At the same time, it will promote a net-zero carbon emission plan and implement green manufacturing goals through measures such as the installation of solar power generation equipment. Through this investment, ASE Semiconductor will upgrade its high-end packaging technology and mass production capabilities, continue to develop high value-added products, and consolidate Taiwan's key position in the global semiconductor supply chain.