Although the NT$2 billion investment that Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) has budgeted for its LCD-specialized industrial park in southern Taiwan will begin showing returns this year, it will not be until 2009 that the site, dubbed "Tree Valley", will be in full operation, according to the company.
CMO said there are currently nine companies set up at the site, with most of them being CMO-invested companies. Asahi Glass Fine Techno Taiwan (AFT), a 100% owned subsidiary of Japan-based Asahi Glass, is the only company there that is not CMO related, the panel maker said.
As mentioned previously, Chi Mei Material Technology, the polarizer maker for the group, will start volume production at the site by the end of the year. Himax Technologies, an LCD driver IC design house and GIO Optoelectronics, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) maker, are also scheduled to begin volume production this year, CMO pointed out.
However, construction at the site will continue over the next few years and will include the addition of "green" features such as riding paths for bicycles and horses. CMO indicated that by the time the park is in full operation by 2009, it will have created 8,000 jobs and will house an annual production value of NT$238 billion.
Article translated by Esther Lam and edited by Michael McManus
