Jason Chang, chairman, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering

Not long ago, Taiwan's Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) was an obscure provider of chip packaging and testing services. But with little or no fanfare in 2004, ASE became the world's largest provider of these services, surpassing U.S.-based Amkor Technology Inc. in terms of overall sales.

And over the years, ASE has transformed itself from a low-end provider of chip packages, to a high-end developer of multi-stack packages, system-in-package (SIP) lines and other advanced products.

Indeed, Jason Chang, chairman of ASE, is also building a worldwide empire. Not only has ASE expanded its manufacturing operations in Taiwan, but the company has also set up plants in Korea, Malaysia, among other locations.

Recently, the company also bought a chip testing and packaging facility from Japan's NEC Corp. And it is on the verge of setting up shop in China.

In fact, under Chang's leadership, ASE continues to break away from the pack and appears to think "outside the box." For example, many subcontractors procure their raw ceramic materials from Japan's Kyocera Corp.

To lessen its dependence on Kyocera, ASE and PCB maker Compeq Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in 2003 set up a joint venture company to manufacture integrated circuit substrates.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how ASE performs this year — given that investment banking firm RBC Capital Markets Inc. has recently lowered its estimates for all subcontractors in 2005.