Taiwan's MOEA to finalize chipmakers' transfer application

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will reportedly finalize this month its assessment of Taiwan-based chipmakers' application on the transfer of 8-inch wafer production using 0.18μm process technology to mainland China.

Companies that have submitted their applications include Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., ProMOS Technologies Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co. Ltd. Industry insiders said that the MOEA will likely approve the applications for 8-inch wafer production using 0.25μm and 0.18μm processes.

United Microelectronics Corp. also reportedly plans to shift its 8-inch wafer production using 0.18μm process to mainland China by investing in ProMOS.