Genesis Photonics Inc. has signed a pact to co-open LED-chip manufacturing venture at a total investment of US$200 million in cooperation with the Kunshan city government of mainland China .

The joint venture is designed to zero in on the mainland’s lucrative LED-lighting market with its ultra-bright chips and lighting modules,and the city government will hold a 51% stake.

Genesis’chairman, David Chung, pointed out that  the venture will produce lighting LEDs as major products and LEDs for backlights as well as outdoor signages as side products.

Taiwan’s LED chipmakers Epistar and Formosa Epitaxy have been promised with 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million at US$1:NT$6.8) as subsidy by their government partners in the mainland for each metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) machine they buy in their investments in the mainland.

The Genesis-Kunshan venture will equip itself with 50 MOCVD machines and call for capital of US$35.8 million in the initial stage. The facilities will be built on a 280-acre site, around 20 times that of Genesis` head factory in the Southern Taiwan Science Park.