Following the establishment of its Mexico plant to provide SiP (System in Package) service for Qualcomm, Taiwan's largest semiconductor packaging and testing service provider ASE Group recently announced its plan to provide the same service for Qualcomm in Brazil via its subsidiary USI (Universal Scientific Industrial Co). Under the tie-up, ASE Group will design, develop, and fabricate modules and components for smartphones and IoT devices in Brazil. Qualcomm and USI have set up a joint venture, called Semicondutores Avançados do Brasil S. A, in Brazil. For the next five years, the JV is to invest USD 200 million into the new plant which is scheduled for production in the first quarter of 2020 and is home for more than 800 employees. On March 13, ASE Group and ASUS jointly announced the world's first smartphones that come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon SiP.