Qualcomm to build new display plant in Hsinchu, Taiwan

Qualcomm Inc. plans to build a new display-manufacturing facility in Hsinchu, Taiwan, a company executive said Tuesday, in the wireless chipmaker’s latest push to diversify into a new business area to take advantage of growing demand for components used in electronic readers and tablet devices.
The San Diego, Calif.-based company, which makes chips used in wireless devices, already has a small display-manufacturing facility in Taiwan, but wants to increase capacity as it is seeing strong demand for displays used in smartphones, e-readers and tablets, Executive Vice President and Group President Steve Mollenkopf told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview in Hong Kong.
“We have an existing fab (fabrication plant) in Taiwan for displays. However, it’s a smaller fab and isn’t sized properly,” Mollenkopf said.”Our focus right now is to get the capacity and technology to (build) scale.”


Qualcomm says displays using its “Mirasol” technology–a type of reflective display–enables color and lower power consumption than mainstream displays such as liquid crystal display and organic light emitting diode display. Such displays can handle motion video and can also be viewed in bright sunlight.
Mollenkopf said Qualcomm has already secured orders for the displays from multiple customers including major consumer electronics makers, without disclosing any names.
A new facility in Taiwan would enable Qualcomm to make displays larger than five inches and compete with mainstream display makers, helping it to diversify its revenue stream. The current fab in Taiwan makes displays in the two-inch category. The executive declined to comment on how much Qualcomm plans to invest in the new facility. However, Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer Bill Keitel said last month the company is spending about $975 million on a new facility for its Mirasol display technology.
The new facility investment will lead to an increase in Qualcomm’s work force in Taiwan, Mollenkopf said, without giving specific numbers.
“We’ve gotten pretty positive feedback on the displays. It’s an issue of matching demand to capacity. We’re really focused on solving that problem today,” he said.
Qualcomm will also look at acquisitions to stay competitive, especially in the chip industry, its mainstay business, said Mollenkopf. Competition has been increasing in the wireless space after Intel Corp., the world’s largest chip maker, earlier this year agreed to acquire the wireless chip unit of German chip maker Infineon Technologies AG–a long time Qualcomm rival–for $1.4 billion in cash.
Qualcomm is especially interested in smaller technology acquisitions that can help the company grow.
Our “business is driven by the growth in wireless data and growth in 3G. That’s what drives both the chip business and licensing business so anything that would accelerate those sectors tends to be interesting to us,” said Mollenkopf.

Asia continues to be an important region for Qualcomm, the executive said, and the company plans to continue to invest in Asia and boost staffing in the region. The company has a work force of 17,000 globally, but it doesn’t break out its overseas headcount number, company spokeswoman Tina Asmar said.
Article via Dow Jones Newswire

after Intel Corp., the world’s largest chip maker, earlier this year agreed to acquire the wireless chip unit of German chip maker Infineon Technologies AG–a long time Qualcomm rival–for $1.4 billion in cash.
Qualcomm is especially interested in smaller technology acquisitions that can help the company grow.
Our “business is driven by the growth in wireless data and growth in 3G. That’s what drives both the chip business and licensing business so anything that would accelerate those sectors tends to be interesting to us,” said Mollenkopf.
Asia continues to be an important region for Qualcomm, the executive said, and the company plans to continue to invest in Asia and boost staffing in the region. The company has a work force of 17,000 globally, but it doesn’t break out its overseas headcount number, company spokeswoman Tina Asmar said.