Three Taiwanese solar companies, namely Gintech, NSP, and Solartech, announced that they will merge and set up a new company called United Renewable Energy, United Daily News reported on October 16, adding that the merger will be completed by the third quarter of 2018. The combined production capacity of PV cells from these three companies will total about 5GW (gigawatts) while the production capacity of MW modules will hit around 900MW (megawatts). With their proprietary technologies, this merger will make the new company the largest solar PV company in Taiwan and the second largest worldwide. "Other than cutting down capex and R&D costs, the merger will also help them boost bargaining power when negotiating with material and equipment suppliers, fueling the development of materials like backsheet, aluminum frame, and EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) to help strengthen the industry supply chain and compete better with Chinese counterparts," says Victor Tsan, Director General of Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) of Institute for Information Industry (III).
Meanwhile, another Taiwanese Solar cell maker Motech Industries also set up a JV with Giga Solar Materials, with each holding a stake of 90% and 10%, respectively. While seeking investment from the National Development Foundation, this new JV named TSMMC (Taiwan Solar Module Manufacturing Corp.) is reportedly to have a registered capital of USD 33.1 million and an initial annual capacity of 250MWp.