Asahi Glass Co. of Japan, the second-largest maker of substrates for liquid crystal displays (LCDs), recently announced that it would invest NT$ 9 billion (US$ 290.3 million) to set up a new company a…
Asahi Glass Co. of Japan, the second-largest maker of substrates for liquid crystal displays (LCDs), recently announced that it would invest NT$ 9 billion (US$ 290.3 million) to set up a new company and a glass substrate plant at Taiwan“s Yunlin Technology Industrial Zone. The plant will produce substrates for thin film transistor (TFT)-LCDs. Asahi“s move promised to heat up competition between the Japanese firm, the world“s largest such maker Corning Inc. of the US, and newcomers in the line in Taiwan, which has become the world“s third-largest production base of TFT-LCDs following Japan and South Korea. Established in 1907, Asahi is a multinational conglomerate with businesses ranging from glass and chemicals to precision ceramic and optoelectronics. The firm accounts for 30% and 90% of the global production of LCD and plasma display panel (PDP) substrates, respectively. It also supplies 20% and 25% of the global volume of glass sheet and processed glass, respectively. Asahi Glass has had over 50 overseas production bases and about 30,000 employees worldwide. An Asahi official said the company will soon set up a subsidiary in Taiwan, to be capitalized at NT$ 880 million (US$ 28.4 million) in the initial stage. The plant is scheduled to begin mass production early next year with a targeted annual capacity of three million square meters of substrates. Asahi plans to invest NT$ 9 billion (US$ 290.3 million) in the new venture. An official at the Yunlin County government said the plant is expected to generate new jobs and economic activity in the central Taiwan county as well as in neighboring areas, and that the Yunlin government will lend its full assistance and support to the project.