Taiwan approves ASML, Sumitomo semiconductor investments

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Tuesday approved six investment cases, including a NT$2.62 billion (US$81.1 million) capital injection by Dutch firm ASML and a NT$2.27 billion investment increase by Japan's Sumitomo Corp. in its Taiwan subsidiary, both for semiconductor-related manufacturing.

They are among three inbound foreign investments totaling NT$13.6 billion and three outbound investments totaling US$999 million approved by the MOEA during an investment review meeting, the ministry said in a press release.

On the foreign inbound investment side, ASML Holding N.V. will invest NT$2.62 billion to increase capital in Cymer, Inc, which engages in the installation, sales, and maintenance of laser light source equipment and semiconductor components.

Sumitomo Corp. will inject NT$2.27 billion into Sumitronics Taiwan Co., Ltd. to expand its import and export business in semiconductor materials and electronic components, according to the ministry.

In addition, Stonepeak Oceanview (Cayman) Holdings Co. will invest NT$8.75 billion into Stonepeak Oceanview Taiwan Co., Ltd., using NT$8.3 billion of that to further invest in Formosa 2 Development Co., Ltd., which is involved in wind power generation.

For outbound investments, Acer Inc. will acquire 100 percent equity of Embedded City Ltd., Cayman Islands, for US$86.05 million, indirectly gaining shares in Taiwan-based Posiflex Technology, Inc.. The investment covers industrial computing, among other operations.

The second outbound case involves Yageo Corp.'s public tender to acquire up to 100 percent of Japan's Shibaura Electronics Co., Ltd. for approximately 77.8 billion Japanese yen (US$521.7 million), targeting the thermistor sensor manufacturing sector.

In the third outbound investment case, ASMedia Technology Inc. will acquire 100 percent of U.S.-based Techpoint, Inc. for US$391 million to expand its integrated circuit design business.