November 26, 2007 – European solar-cell equipment supplier Oerlikon is eyeing a possible $55M investment in an Asian R&D center in either Taiwan or Singapore, with a decision likely by year’s end, according to local reports.

Digitimes noted that Oerlikon CEO Uwe Kruger has visited Taiwan to assess the area for PECVD equipment R&D, with reports on different sites due next month. The Taiwan Economic News adds that former Quanta Computer president J.H. Wang is leading the charge for the Taiwan contingent.

The latter report noted concerns among “industry watchers” that the company could follow fellow European firm REC and choose to locate R&D in Singapore instead. But, Taiwan’s well-developed middle-downstream segments in its solar energy industry bode well to win the deal, and the government is expected to be more generous with incentives than it was with REC, the paper noted.