Taiwan-based King Yuan Electronics Company (KYEC), which provides wafer probing testing services, has budgeted NT$4.989 billion (US$171.9 million) in capex for 2013, compared to the NT$3.8 billion allocated in 2012.

The estimated capex for 2013 includes a construction cost estimate of NT$1 billion for KYEC's new plant in Miaoli, northern Taiwan, the firm revealed. The remainder will be spent on installation of additional probing machines and related equipment, including KYEC's in-house developed testers, the firm added.

KYEC earlier in December 2012 broke ground for the new plant located in Tongluo, Miaoli County, with construction scheduled to complete at the end of 2013. Capacity at the new facility will focus on the markets for high-resolution LCD driver ICs and CMOS image sensors used in mobile devices.

KYEC's capex target for 2013 is higher than the NT$3.5 billion estimated previously by company chairman CK Lee.

In addition, KYEC expects its in-house developed testers to generate about 20% of company revenues in 2013, up from 15-18% in 2012.