GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, is to add about 20,000 advanced 12-inch wafers a month from local fabs starting this quarter, the firm said on Monday.

The Hsinchu-based semiconductor company said it is expanding capacity at factories in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Italy to meet robust demand.

With the additions, GlobalWafers expects its capacity to increase 10 to 15 percent, it said.

Photo: Fang Wei-jie, Taipei Times

A major portion of the new capacity would be available from the second half of this year, it said.

“Taiwan is to be the first place to reach the goal, with [fabs in] Japan and South Korea to have new capacity available afterward,” GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told reporters at a media event.

GlobalWafers reiterated its strong business outlook for this year and beyond.

“Demand is not a problem. Raw material supply is tight, but it is still manageable,” Hsu said. “All of our factories are fully utilized. All wafer sizes are fully booked. The supply of 12-inch wafers is the tightest, as all of our customers are expanding 12-inch fabs.”

Surges in transportation costs — which have expanded three or even fourfold — and port congestion remain the biggest challenges, Hsu said.

“We have factored in most cost rises in wafer price quotes, but the increases in transportation costs have exceeded our expectations,” she said.

To support capacity expansion, GlobalWafers and its parent company, Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美矽晶), a solar company, this year plan to recruit more than 500 people in Taiwan, up from about 100 new openings last year, Hsu said.

Short supply of workers is becoming a new challenge for the company to expand production this year, coupled with tight supply of raw materials, Hsu said.

A deal to merge Siltronics AG is still ongoing, GlobalWafers said, adding that it hopes to close the deal by its Jan. 31 deadline.

INCHING BACK: After its worst first half since 1970, the S&P 500 has risen about 16 percent from its mid-June low, fueled by stronger-than-expected corporate earnings US stocks on Friday fell in a broad sell-off led by megacaps as US bond yields rose, with the S&P 500 posting losses for the week after four straight weeks of gains. Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp all fell and were the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ. Higher rates tend to be a negative for technology and growth stocks, the valuations of which rely more heavily on future cash flows. US Treasury yields rose, with the benchmark 10-year note nearly hitting 3 percent, after Germany reported record-high increases in monthly producer prices. Investors have been weighing how aggressive

OUTLIER: Taiwan’s M&A activity bucked a global downtrend and gained pace despite the negative effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the pandemic Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the nation gained steam in the first four months of this year, driven mainly by financial and telecommunication service providers reinforcing their operations and increasing their market share, consulting firm Ernst & Young Taiwan said yesterday. M&A deals in the first four months spiked 53 percent from the same period last year, while their transaction values grew nearly fourfold, Ernst & Young Taiwan told a forum cosponsored by the Taiwan Mergers and Acquisition and Private Equity Council (台灣併購與私募股權協會), and Jones Day law firm. The nation’s M&A activity gained pace even though Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the

Chip sales are set to cool more than previously expected as the global economy struggles under the weight of rapid interest rate increases and rising geopolitical risks, fueling fears of a recession. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), a non-profit body that tracks shipments, lowered its market outlook to 13.9 percent growth this year from 16.3 percent. For next year, it sees chip sales rising just 4.6 percent, the weakest pace since 2019. The market is still expected to surpass US$600 billion this year, WSTS forecast. Next year’s forecast growth would be the weakest since a 12 percent drop in sales at the

The nation’s footwear and apparel makers could face extended inventory adjustments as their global brand clients reported weak sales and record in-transit inventories in the second quarter of this year, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a research note on Friday. The investment consultancy said an inventory adjustment period is expected to last two to three quarters, which would negatively affect Taiwanese footwear and apparel makers’ sales and earnings in the coming quarters. “Based on current brand inventory levels and their sales guidance, brand client inventories are forecast to recover to a healthy level in about the second or