AUGUSTASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9NEWSROOMCHINA GALAXY SECURITIES TO INCREASE INVESTMENT BANKING BUSINESS IN SEAThe U.S. Commerce Department announced plans to award Taiwan's GlobalWafers up to $400 million in government grants to significantly increase the production of silicon wafers in the United States. The funds will support projects in Texas and Missouri, aiming to establish the first U.S. production of 300-mm wafers for advanced semiconductors and expand production of silicon-on-insulator wafers.This initiative is part of the Biden administration's strategy to bolster the semiconductor supply chain in the U.S. by reducing dependence on foreign sources. The planned subsidy will support GlobalWafers' $4 billion investment in constructing new wafer manufacturing facilities, creating 1,700 construction jobs and 880 manufacturing jobs.Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasized the importance of GlobalWafers' role in strengthening the U.S. semiconductor supply chain by providing a domestic source of silicon wafers, which are essential for advanced chips. GlobalWafers Chairwoman and CEO Doris Hsu expressed gratitude for the U.S. government's support, highlighting the company's pivotal position in the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.Currently, GlobalWafers, along with four other major companies, controls over 80 percent of the global 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing market, with about 90 percent of silicon wafers produced in East Asia. The subsidy will facilitate the construction and expansion of facilities in Sherman, Texas, for wafers used in leading-edge, mature-node, and memory chips, and in St. Peters, Missouri, for wafers used in defense and aerospace chips. The investment banking team of state-owned brokerage China Galaxy Securities (CGS) intends to increase its size in Southeast Asia from 30 to 50 members next year. This decision is based on the expectation of increased dealmaking in the region despite a slow market in China.Jason Saw, the group head of investment banking at CGS International Securities, mentioned that they are currently working on obtaining a license to assist in managing initial public offerings (IPOs) in Malaysia.In an interview with Reuters, Saw revealed that CGS International, based in Singapore, has acquired investment banking business licenses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand in the past 18 months."The new people that we are onboarding are actually more to build our ASEAN-China relation to cater to Chinese enterprises to go into Southeast Asia," he added.Saw stated that with the support of its parent companies CGS and China Investment Corp, CGS International aims to pursue transactions related to China-Southeast Asia connections, dual listings, and mid-market deals ranging from S$200 million ($149 million) to S$1 billion ($744 million) in Southeast Asia. Saw stated that CGS International, a subsidiary of China Investment Corp's sovereign wealth fund CGS, is increasingly attracting interest from Chinese strategic investors and funds looking to grow and diversify their investments in Southeast Asia. TAIWAN'S GLOBALWAFERS TO MANUFACTURE SILICON WAFERS IN USAAUGUSTASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9
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