Qualcomm has begun implementing its commitment to expanding investments in Taiwan, enhancing its collaboration with local companies and academic organizations after reaching a settlement over an anti-trust lawsuit with Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC), according to deputy science and technology minister Yu-chin Hsu.

Qualcomm has made significant efforts to support academic research and has helped realize some research projects in Taiwan, Hsu said.

Qualcomm's efforts will help boost the production value of Taiwan's networking/communications sector to NT$600 billion (US$19.07 billion) annually, plus an additional NT$200 billion for the foundry and back-end semiconductor sectors, economics officials estimate.

Hsu's remark came after Taiwan's highest government watchdog body ruled in late May that the FTC-Qualcomm settlement agreement reached in August 2018 was inappropriate. The watchdog demanded the FTC make remedies within two months.

FTC also defended its decision, saying the settlement was appropriate and Qualcomm has started implementing its five-year investment plans in Taiwan as promised.

Qualcomm's investment projects in Taiwan include the establishment an operations and manufacturing engineering and testing center, a multimedia R&D center, a mobile AI intelligence innovation center, and a 5G environmental testing laboratory, plus market expansion, startup and academic collaborations.

Some industrial sources indicated that Qualcomm is currently constructing a building of its own in Hsinchu that will be used for 5G technology and product developments with an aim to assist Taiwan's OEMs to develop related 5G devices and other emerging products for the global market.

Qualcomm's new building is not far from a new fab for the development and production of 2nm chips to be built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the sources indicated.

By: DocMemory
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