In anticipation of the strong demand, Taiwanese electronic component manufacturer Yageo plans to increase its capex spending to NT$5 billion (US$172 million; US$1= NT$29.1) in the hope of expanding capacity to meet the hiking demand for of MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor) and chip resistors in 2018, the United Daily News reported on January 26. This indicates a 10% increase in capex compared to last year. The capex spending this year will be used to boost the capacity of components for use in automotive, public infrastructure, and high-end smartphones. The total capex for the period 2016-2018 is approximately NT$12 billion (US$412 million), higher than the past five years. Notwithstanding the decline of smartphones market, the supplies of aluminum electrolytic capacitors will remain strained until the first half of 2018 while that of MLCCs and tantalum capacitors will likely to become tight towards the end of 2018. For this reason, Taiwan’s manufacturers increased the prices of MLCC last year, including Yageo, which has increase the price of certain chip resistor products by 15% to 20%, and therefore the company is expected to see its revenue grow in 2018.