In August 2000, Taiwan’s Orient Semiconductor Engineering (OSE) began a reported US$200 million expansion involving two chip-assembly plants near its Kaohsiung headquarters. The plan prioritized ball-grid-array (BGA) packaging, with the remaining capacity intended for quad-flat-pack (QFP) and small-outline-package (SOP) products. The announcement described a historical investment plan; it does not establish whether those plants entered production or remain in operation.
What OSE planned to build
EE Times reported on 3 August 2000 that OSE had begun expanding with two plants near its Kaohsiung headquarters. The reported investment was US$200 million, and the factories were expected to begin production by late 2000 or early 2001. Those dates were forecasts in the period report, not confirmed outcomes.
OSE vice president Chen Ah-mei said, “BGA is our target product, but we can support other package types as well.” The report said 30–40% of capacity in the new plants was to target BGA packaging; the remainder was intended for QFP and SOP products.
What the package mix meant
BGA was the priority
Ball-grid-array packaging connects a chip to a circuit board through an array of solder balls on the package’s underside. OSE’s planned 30–40% allocation made BGA a significant target, but not the only package type the plants were intended to support.
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QFP and SOP were also planned
Quad-flat-pack and small-outline-package designs use leads around the package edges to connect with a circuit board. The 2000 report said the plants’ remaining capacity would serve QFP and SOP products, indicating a broader packaging mix rather than an all-BGA operation.
OSE’s 2023 ESG report describes example packaging flows: wire-bond packaging includes wafer sawing, die bonding, wire bonding, molding, marking, singulation, testing and packing; flip-chip packaging includes wafer sawing, flip-chip mounting, molding, marking, singulation, testing and packing. These examples help explain the range of work involved in assembly and packaging, but are not an exhaustive account of OSE’s operations. OSE ESG Report 2023
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Why the expansion mattered in 2000
The EE Times article framed the investment as an effort to help OSE gain ground on local competitors ASE and Siliconware (SPIL). It described ASE as Taiwan’s largest IC-packaging house and Siliconware as the second-largest at the time; those are period rankings, not current comparisons.
For context, EE Times reported that OSE sales were US$315 million in 1999, up from US$272 million in 1998. It reported ASE sales of US$1.1 billion in 1999, compared with US$660 million in 1998. The same article said Taiwan’s IC packaging, testing and assembly industry grew from US$1.9 billion in 1994 to US$3.6 billion in 1999, attributing those figures to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). The original ITRI publication was not located, so the market-growth figures are best treated as reported by EE Times, citing ITRI, rather than independently verified ITRI data.
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| Company or industry measure | Earlier figure | Later figure | Attribution and period |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSE sales | US$272 million (1998) | US$315 million (1999) | EE Times, 2000 |
| ASE sales | US$660 million (1998) | US$1.1 billion (1999) | EE Times, 2000 |
| Taiwan IC packaging, test and assembly industry | US$1.9 billion (1994) | US$3.6 billion (1999) | EE Times, citing ITRI, 2000 |
The article also reported that OSE acquired a 75% stake in San Jose-based Integrated Packaging Assembly Corp. for US$6.8 million in April 2000. That transaction detail and the competitor rankings are claims reported in the period article, not present-day rankings or independently verified acquisition records.
How the announcement fits with OSE today
OSE’s current website describes two broad business areas: IC packaging and testing services, and electronics manufacturing services. Its turnkey service description lists wafer probing, substrate and lead-frame design, design for manufacturing, assembly, testing and EMS, and describes full-scale testing. These current service pages do not confirm the status or output of the two plants reported in 2000. OSE Turn-key Solution Service · OSE official website
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In May 2023, OSE announced a separate assembly-and-testing facility in Kaohsiung’s Nanzih Technology Industrial Park. The announcement described a building with nine floors above ground and three below, more than 70,000 square feet of built-up area, a 2025 target completion date and 800 anticipated jobs. Since the stated target date has passed and completion has not been verified here, those details should be read as the announcement’s plans, not confirmation that the facility is complete or operating. OSE’s 9 May 2023 facility announcement
A separate regional investment example came from SPIL: Taiwan’s Bureau of Industrial Parks reported on 22 September 2026 that the company had broken ground on a Yunlin Industrial Park plant on 11 September. The government announcement put investment at approximately NT$100 billion, identified CoWoS advanced packaging as a process, projected 2,200 jobs and scheduled operations for 2028. This is a separate SPIL project, not evidence about OSE’s plants or competitive position. Taiwan Bureau of Industrial Parks announcement
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What is and is not established
The 2000 report documents OSE’s investment, planned package mix, expected production timing and competitive rationale. It does not establish whether the two plants began production on schedule, what capacity they ultimately reached, or whether they operate today. The later OSE facility announcement is distinct and likewise does not establish its actual completion or current operating status.
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