Taiwan-based IC packaging and testing firm Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) has revealed plans to invest a total of US$1.2 billion on manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, China.

ASE will build a 180,000-square-meter plant as part of an effort to expand its operations in China, the company said. Located in Jinqiao, Pudong New Area, the new facility will target higher-end wirebonding and packaging services with volume production slated for the second half of 2011.

ASE also unveiled plans to set up its regional headquarters and R&D center in Zhangjiang, Shanghai. Construction of the 116,000-square-meter factory building will be divided into three phases, ASE said, adding that operations are scheduled to commence in 2012.

In November 2010, ASE announced investment worth US$60 million to expand capacity at its subsidiary ASE (Weihai) in Shandong Province, China. Earlier in the year, the company said it would spend a total of US$124 million on operation expansion in China, including construction of a new plant in the Pudong industrial district of Shanghai and additional production lines at its Kunshan, Jiangsu Province facility.

As for operations in Taiwan, ASE previously held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new factory (K12) located at its manufacturing site in Kaohsiung with completion scheduled for November 2011. The company also acquired a nearby factory building, which was formerly owned by PCB supplier Wus Printed Circuit.