April 27, 2006 – Taiwan has announced it is removing restrictions on export of low-end semiconductor packaging and testing technology to mainland China, according to an Associated Press report.

“It’s time for us to open our testing and packaging technology to the mainland,” said Joseph Wu, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, quoted by the AP. “There is a demand by the industry to make these investments.”

Taiwan’s big testing and packaging firms are seen benefiting from the news, particularly Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. and Siliconware Precision Industries Co. Ltd.

Taiwan still restricts export of more advanced chipmaking technologies, e.g., <0.25-micron and on 300mm wafers.

Last year officials from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan agreed to eliminate duties on multichip packages (MCP) starting in January. MCP revenues were $4.2 billion in 2004 (from zero at the beginning of the decade), according to SEMI, which forecasts a 25% CAGR through 2008, more than double the growth of the overall semiconductor industry.