UMC branches into solar cell business

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 22, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. recently opened a solar-cell business through it's a filiates. This move indicates that the booming solar-cell market is catching the attention of big chipmakers.

The United Microelectronics Corp. has invested NT$20 million (US$625,000) in the new venture. Meanwhile, the PowerChip Semiconductor Corp., a leading supplier of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips in Taiwan, also announced its investment in a similar business.

According to industry analysts, the lucrative solar-energy market has attracted the attention of many Taiwanese chipmakers and suppliers of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Several major suppliers in these two sectors have decided to invest in solar-cell businesses.

According to industry analysts, demands for the solar cells have soared sharply in recent months as a result of high crude-oil prices worldwide.