ASE Technology's chief financial officer, Hongsi Dong, announced at a press conference on Friday that the company has successfully signed an agreement to spend about NT$5.26 billion (US$162 million) to acquire the "K18" factory, an important facility in Nanzi District, Kaohsiung City, from an affiliate, Hongqing Construction Company.
The secretary further explained that the acquisition of the K18 factory aims to enhance the company's production capacity in the field of complex IC pumping packaging and flip chip packaging to better meet the growing demand for high-performance chips in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC). This strategic move will provide strong support for the company to seize the future technology development trend and consolidate its leading position in the market.
Tracing back to history, the K18 factory was originally a joint project jointly created by ASE Technology and Hongjing Technology in 2020. However, in view of the urgent need for more advanced packaging technology from customers, ASE Technology has decided to exercise its right of first refusal and fully integrate the K18 factory under its command to accelerate the pace of technology upgrades and capacity expansion.
It is reported that the K18 factory covers a vast area, with a total area of nearly 33,000 square meters (about 108,900 square meters), providing a solid material foundation for ASE Technology to further expand its production capacity.
Recently, ASE Technology has made frequent moves in expanding production. At the end of June, the company announced that it would join hands with Hongzheng Technology to build a K28 plant in Kaohsiung City, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026. The fab will focus on advanced packaging and testing services, aiming to capture market opportunities in the AI era.
Figure:ASE to Expand Advanced IC Packaging Services in Kaohsing
In addition, ASE Technology is also actively expanding overseas markets. Earlier this month, the company, through its subsidiary ASE Japan Co., Ltd., acquired a piece of land in Kitakyushu City, Japan, for approximately NT$701 million, where it plans to build a 160,000-square-meter advanced packaging factory. The company also said it is open to expanding production capacity in places such as Mexico and the United States to further optimize its global layout.
In Silicon Valley, ASE Technology is also not far behind. In July, the company announced the opening of a second facility in the region through a subsidiary, aiming to expand its share of the United States semiconductor test market. ISE Labs, a division of ASE Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ASE Technology, has also seen significant growth. Its R&D lab and business space in San Jose doubled to more than 150,000 square meters with the completion of the new facility, further strengthening the company's R&D strength and market position in Silicon Valley.
It is worth mentioning that ISE Labs' high-power burn-in solutions have an excellent reputation in the industry and are considered one of the best tools for detecting early failures in semiconductor devices. This advantage will help the company to better serve global customers and improve product quality and competitiveness.
At the same time, Huanyu Integrated Circuit Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of ASE Technology, is also actively expanding overseas markets. The company has purchased land in Mexico and is committed to providing high-quality IC packaging and test solutions for the North American automotive and power management supply chain.
In terms of performance, ASE Technology also performed well. Consolidated sales in July reached NT$51.6 billion, the highest since November 2023 (when revenue was NT$54.51 billion). This represents an increase of 10% compared to the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 6.7%. In the first seven months of this year, the company's consolidated revenue reached NT$324.64 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.89%, demonstrating the company's strong development momentum and good market prospects.
