AUO Corporation ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) announced today that AUO Crystal Corp. (“ACC”), one of AUO's subsidiary companies, will establish a solar wafer plant in Taiwan's Chungkang Export Processing Zone, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), to strengthen its strategic position for solar materials in the upstream and enhance technological developments. The groundbreaking ceremony of the first-phase construction was held today. The equipments are expected to be moved in this August, with mass production planned in the fourth quarter. The first-phase capacity of multicrystalline ingots and wafers is expected to achieve 300 megawatts (MW). In the future, ACC will play a critical role in providing stable supplies of upstream solar materials to secure its proprietary R&D and smelting technologies of polysilicon, and offer high-quality and high-efficiency materials to solar cell makers.

AUO Chairman Mr. K.Y. Lee and ACC Chairman Mr. Max Cheng attended ACC's groundbreaking ceremony today with Director Mau-Shin Hsiu of MOEA's Chungkang Export Processing Zone Administration. “ACC is one of the few manufacturers in the solar industrial chain equipped with M.Setek's high-quality polysilicon manufacturing technology, which can provide the total solution including polysilicon, ingot, and wafer to customers. Incorporating M.Setek's high-quality technology and solar talents from the upstream in Taiwan, ACC not only secures the high-end technology of producing monocrystalline ingots and wafers but also develops high-quality multicrystalline ingots and wafers with its own technologies. ACC will provide customers with even more diverse products and better services in the coming future,” said Chairman Lee.

Mr. Lee also pointed out, while establishing its global presence, AUO also commits itself to long-term investment in Taiwan. In addition to its plan of building Taichung to become AUO's solar business operation center, with continuous investments in new facilities, the Company focuses even more on the cultivation of local talents and local industry development. ACC's presence in the Chungkang Export Processing Zone is estimated to create 1,000 job opportunities in the next three years.

The first phase construction of the ACC facility in Chungkang Export Processing Zone is around three hectares, and the total area after expansion will be 8.5 hectares. The equipment move-in is scheduled to take place this August with mass production planned in the fourth quarter. The initial capacity of multicrystalline ingots and wafers is estimated to reach 300 MW and will be increased gradually based on market demands. ACC will integrate R&D resources and technologies in the upstream of the solar industry to provide stable solar materials. It will also devise mid- to long-term marketing strategies to meet the demands of the global solar market. Through the vertical integration of the solar supply chain, ACC will be able to provide customers with a full line of products and better services and support.