Taiwan's Inventec to invest $95 million in solar cell

Inventec Corp., a leading Taiwanese contract notebook computer maker, said on Wednesday it will invest at least 3 billion Taiwan dollars (95 million US) to set up a solar cell unit.

The company said in a statement it established the new unit to diversify its business and stimulate growth as profit margins in the contract computer-making sector have kept narrowing.

Inventec is among a string of Taiwanese high-tech firms that have ventured into solar energy, an area expected to see rapid expansion in coming years as global warming concerns prompt a search for alternative to fossil fuels.

Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) announced last year an investment of about 192 million US dollars for a 20-percent stake in Motech Industries Inc., the island's largest producer of solar cells.

TSMC, the world's top contract microchip maker by revenue, this year invested another 50 million US dollars in an American solar-panel maker.

Taiwan has estimated its solar energy industry to be worth up to 200 billion Taiwan dollars by 2020

(c) 2010 AFP