TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Tatung plans to establish a computing power center in the Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto next year, reports said Wednesday.

The area has already raised its profile by hosting a fab for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., with an agreement for a second plant signed last week. Tatung said it had already selected a plot in the region for its center, per CNA.

The Taiwanese electronics and appliances conglomerate is looking to invite partners like AI pioneer OpenAI to participate in and manage the new center next year, according to CEO Brian Shen (沈柏延). Tatung will handle the engineering, procurement, and construction for the project.

Tatung is also interested in buying a 60% to 70% share in a Taiwanese manufacturer of electrical power transformers in Vietnam, Shen said, illustrating the group’s interest in Southeast Asia. The two sides were expected to sign an agreement by the end of the year.

The plan is to move raw materials from Tatung’s operations in China to manufacture transformers at the new plant in Vietnam, allowing the company to compete with Chinese companies already present in the Southeast Asian country. Tatung is also scheduled to open a new transformer factory in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District early next year, Shen said.