Investment & Expansion
capabilities. Amkor has a facility in Taiwan that is now in high volume
operation.
For 2002, Amkor expects to produce more than 4mn VisionPak CMOS image sensor
packages. The company believes that this represents 13% of the total CMOS
image sensor market and 22% of the outsourced market.
Amkor established its VisionPak CLCC product line in late 1999 through close
collaboration with a major US-based supplier of CMOS image sensor devices.
The VisionPak line also includes a fully integrated camera module that
typically consists of multiple components including CMOS image sensor die,
passives, infrared filter glass, lens mount, and lens barrel, and sometimes
a separate driver IC. Amkor expects to produce more than 300,000 camera
modules in 2002 and recently expanded its VisionPak camera module assembly
facility in Taiwan.
Air Products has brought on-stream what is claimed as the worlds largest
ultra-high-purity bulk gas production facility, pipeline bulk gas
distribution network and a related electronics specialty materials
production centre at the Tainan Science Based Industrial Park in southern
Taiwan. The total investment by Air Products is in excess of $50mn.
The plant can produce 50,000m3/hour of ultra-high-purity gaseous nitrogen
and 400tonnes/day of ultra-high-purity liquid nitrogen and ultra-high-purity
liquid oxygen. The electronics specialty materials production centre can
purify and transfill products such as nitrogen trifluoride, nitrous oxide
and hexafluoroethane.
Air Products customers include the big foundries TSMC and UMC.
Agere Systems has fallen below the New York Stock Exchanges continued
listing standard relating to minimum share price. The NYSE requires that a
companys average closing stock price be at least $1.00 over a period of 30
consecutive trading days. The company is currently evaluating its options.
Under NYSE rules, a company typically has a period of six months to meet the
continued listing standard.
