GIS-KY(6456-TW),aleadingtouchpanelmanufacturer,hascontinuedtoexpanditsbusinessintwomainareas,electricvehiclesandthemetaverse,inlinewiththedevelopmentlayoutofitsparentgroup,HonHaiPrecisionIndustryCo.(2317-TW),accordingtoGIS-KYChairmanChouHsien-ying.Speakingatashareholders’meetingonTuesday(May31),thechairmanannouncedtheinvestmentinanewfactoryinHouli,Taichung,andamediumandlong-termplantosetupfactoriesinVietnamandIndia,whichhaveremainedunchanged.GIS-KY’scapitalexpenditurethisyearcouldreachNT$5billion,lowerthanlastyear’sNT$10billion,mainlyduetotheendofsignificantinvestmentsintabletPCsandnotebooks.Chousaidthisyear’scapitalexpenditureswillfocusonelectricvehiclesandmetaverseapplications.Inlinewiththegroup’slayout,Chourevealedthatsomenewproductsareunderdevelopment,andpartofthenewplantinHouli,Taichungistoexpandinvestmentintheautomotiveglasscoating.Inadditiontotheexistingautomotivetouchproducts,thecoverbusinesswillcooperatewithpanelmanufacturersandotherstrategicpartnerstoimprovecustomeradhesion.Still,itisexpectedthattherelevantoperationalcontributionwilltake1-2years.Regardingmetaverseapplications,ChousaidthatGIS-KYwillalsofocusontheopticalfieldrelatedtoitsexistingbusinessandexpectstostartmakingsomerevenuecontributionsnextyear.Inthepastfewyears,GIS-KYhascontinuedtoincreaseitsinvestmentinTaichungandHouliinresponsetocustomerrequirementsandconfidenceinhiringmoretalentsinopticalfieldsinTaiwan.Chousaidthatthemedium-andlong-termplanstoexpandtheworldwidelayoutinVietnamandIndiahavenotchangedintermsofplanningglobalproductioncapacity.Atpresent,thelocationofthefactoryissettled.Theinitialinvestmentisnotexpectedtobetoolarge;onlyhundredsofmillionsofdollarscouldbeinvestedinconstructingcleanroomsthisyear.Thepurchaseofequipment,emphasizingtheexpansionofnon-Chineseproductioncapacity,isstillinlinewithcustomersandassemblyplants’finalassembly,testandpackaging(FATP).However,Chinaremainsthemainproductionbase.
