Taiwan touch-panel maker TPK to invest $1 bln

Taiwan's TPK Holding, a leading manufacturer of touch screens for Apple, will invest up to Tw$30 billion ($1.01 billion) this year to meet robust demand for mobile and other devices, media reported Sunday.

The capital will be used to raise production on the island and in China's coastal Fujian province, company chairman Michael Chiang said while breaking ground for a new plant in central Taiwan Saturday.

Its existing research and development unit in Taiwan will also be expanded, he said, according to the Economic Daily News and the Commercial Times.

The company's touch screens are used in smartphones, tablet PCs, notebook PCs, electronic books and other consumer electronic items.

The company saw its revenue surge to $5.98 billion in 2012 from $4.74 billion in 2011.