ASE Holdings, the world’s largest semiconductor packaging and testing company, has announced plans to expand its operations in the United States, Japan, Mexico, and Malaysia in order to meet the increasing demand for diversified production from customers.
During a shareholder meeting held on Wednesday, ASE Holdings’ Chief Operating Officer, Wu Tianyu, disclosed that the company has confirmed the construction of a second chip testing facility in Fremont, California. The official announcement of this project and its investment scale is scheduled for July 12.
According to Wu Tianyu, in response to the global economy, regional politics, and supply chain integrity, as well as the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in North America, the company will establish a new testing facility for advanced testing, serving AI-related customers in the region, within a 20-minute drive from the current plant site.
Emphasizing that the new facility has been approved as a tax-free zone, Wu Tianyu explained that customers from around the world can avoid cumbersome processes and tax regulations by sending their high-end chips to this facility for testing.
With an SMT assembly plant in Mexico employing approximately 3,000 staff, Wu Tianyu revealed that the company has recently acquired adjacent land to construct a packaging and assembly facility next to the existing plant. The new facility will primarily focus on producing chips for automotive and power management applications.
Furthermore, Wu Tianyu stated that ASE Holdings will continue to expand its Penang facility in Malaysia. The company has signed a long-term contract with a European automotive electronics plant to establish an automotive electronics supply chain outside of Taiwan. As a result, the Penang facility under ASE Holdings will actively undergo expansion.
Moreover, while not ruling out the possibility of setting up an advanced packaging facility in Japan, Wu Tianyu did not disclose the specific location, only mentioning that it will not be in Yamagata Prefecture and will offer a more complete and extensive development space.
Looking ahead, Wu Tianyu projected that this year will be a year of recovery, with successful inventory reduction in the first half and anticipated accelerated growth in the second half. He also expressed expectations that revenue from advanced packaging testing services, including CoWoS, will increase, facilitating revenue recovery.
Lastly, emphasizing ongoing technological investments, he mentioned that the company is monitoring the development of next-generation power management chips and silicon photonics. In particular, with over a decade of investment in silicon photonics, ASE Holdings will continue to allocate resources to this area in the future.