Tekcore Co., Ltd., Genesis Photonics Inc., and Lextar Electronics Corp., three leading Taiwanese manufacturers of light emitting diode LED epitaxy wafers, have recently secured total syndicated loans of over NT$11.3 billion US$353 million at US$1:NT$32 for their bold expansion plans.
In a syndicate loan deal, 12 banks agreed to lend NT$1.5 billion US$46 million to Genesis, 79% more than the company originally planned to borrow, in light of bright future of the LED industry.
Genesis` executives pointed out that the company will begin to add metal organic chemical vapor deposition MOCVD machines at its second factory in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in July to cope with robust demands for LED TV backlights and LED billboards. The company projects to increase MOCVD machines to 53 systems, boosting total output to 130,000 wafers a month in the long run.
The company successfully upgraded its blue-light LED luminous intensity to 2,400 millicandela mcd in the first quarter, convincing South Korean packagers to build its chips into their backlight modules for LCD TVs. Institutional investors point out the company has begun ramping up shipments of backlight chips in the second quarter.
Genesis has delivered samples of backlight chips to mainland Chinese and Japanese TV manufacturers. Industry watchers estimate contracts from mainland China and Japan will help maintain the high sales growth at least until the third quarter.
Tekcore has secured a loan of NT$1.8 billion US$56 million with banking consortium headed by Chang Hwa Bank. The lending sum is 1.43 times the company`s planned number.
Lextar has secured NT$8 billion US$250 million of loan with eight banks, 50% more than the company`s planned sum.
