August 13, 2024 /SemiMedia/ -- On August 9, ASE announced that it would spend NT$5.263 billion (approximately $162 million) to purchase the K18 plant owned by Hung Ching Development & Construction Co. Ltd. to meet the company's future demand for expanding advanced packaging production capacity.

The K18 plant is located in Kaohsiung City, with a total construction area of approximately 109,089 square meters. The plant was originally the K13 plant built by ASE Semiconductor in 2020 under a cooperative development contract signed with Hung Ching on a joint construction principle.

ASE purchased the K18 plant mainly to set up production lines for wafer bump packaging and flip-chip packaging processes. In addition to expanding the production capacity of advanced packaging, it aims to enhance the performance of ASE's unified packaging and testing services in the first park with the best production capacity configuration, and continue to strengthen the company's overall development.

Industry insiders said that ASE exercised its right of first refusal to purchase the plant this time to facilitate the future capacity expansion needs of the Kaohsiung plant.