ASE Technology Unit to Buy Equipment for 200 Million Yuan; Shares Down 3%

ASE Technology unit ASE inaugurated its fifth plant in Penang, Malaysia, to double its IC packaging and testing capacity for AI and auto electronics, Focus Taiwan reported Tuesday.

The new facility expands ASE's production space from 92,903 to 315,870 square meters, boosting its workforce from 3,300 to over 6,000, according to the report.

ASE aims to support global clients in robotics and power management chip development. The company also continues capacity expansion in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines, the publication said.

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ASE Technology's unit ASE Test acquired machinery and equipment worth NT$1 billion from Hon. Precision.

The machinery will be used for production and operational use, according to a Monday Taiwan Exchange filing.

Asian equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were higher Thursday morning, rising 0.4% to 2,203.14 on the S&P Asia 50 ADR Index.

From North Asia, the gainers were led by semiconductor company Himax Technologies and consumer lending firm Eason Technology D, which climbed 6.9% and 5.4% respectively. They were followed by semiconductor company ASE Technology and biotech firm Zai Lab , which advanced 5.4% and 4.7% respectively.

The decliners from North Asia were led by media company 36Kr K and mobile big data platform Aurora Mobile , which fell 4.4% and 3.4% respectively. They were followed by automotive ecommerce platform Cango and computer hardware maker Canaan , which dropped 2.7% and 2.2% respectively.

From South Asia, the gainers were led by pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories , which increased 1.2%, followed by financial services company ICICI Bank and telecommunications operator Telekomunikasi Indonesia , which were up 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

The decliners from South Asia were led by IT firm Infosys and telecommunications operator PLDT , which were down 0.6% and 0.5% respectively. They were followed by Wipro and financial services company HDFC Bank , which were off 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.

(Corrects the Q4 and prior-year revenue figures in the third paragraph alongside the FactSet estimate in the fourth paragraph.)

ASE Technology Holding reported Q4 earnings Thursday of 2.07 New Taiwan dollars ($0.06) per diluted share, down from NT$2.13 a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected NT$2.04.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was NT$162.26 billion, compared with NT$160.58 billion a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected NT$158.74 billion.