MOEA May Approve 14 Foreign Firms to Set Up R&D Centers This Year

Taipei, Oct. 22, 2010 (CENS)--There may be 14 foreign firms approved to set up R&D centers in Taiwan this year, which involve total investment of US$432 million, including those to be publicized by Elpida and Corning soon, reported the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday (Oct. 21).

The ministry approved applications by HP and IMEC of Belgium to establish R&D centers in Taiwan yesterday. The former will invest NT$3.6 billion to set up “HP integrated information R&D center,” ,while the projected Taiwan R&D center of IMEC will cost NT$150 million, focusing on microelectronics, medical electronics, and green energy.

An MOEA official noted that the figures for approved foreign R&D centers, including the number of cases and total investment value, will be record high, compared with single-digit cases in past years. He attributed the exceptional performance to the outlook of a stable cross-Taiwan Strait relationship following the settlement of the cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).

Foreign firms approved to set up R&D centers in Taiwan this year include Microsoft, IBM, and Tokyo Electron Ltd, a semiconductor firm. They will join many other firms already with R&D centers on the island, including Sony, Dupont, Fujitsu, whose cases were approved last year.

The MOEA is now talking with Elpida of Japan on its plan to invest over US$100 million in setting up an over 100-person R&D center, mainly for developing sub-40 nanometer DRAM production technology. Another project in the pipeline is the plan of Corning to set up a R&D center for developing the technology for the touch panels for iPhone, possibly including green-light laser production technology.