advanced semiconductor engineering&39s office in kaohsiung. file photohsieh mingtsotaiwanbased integrated circuit packaging and testing firms are expected to see their gross margins improve because of the taiwan dollar&39s recent weakness against the us dollar, analysts said wednesday.advanced semiconductor engineering ase and siliconware precision industries, taiwan&39s two largest ic packaging and testing services providers, are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries, analysts said.on tuesday, the taiwan dollar fell nt0.179 us0.06, or 0.57, to nt31.765 against the us dollar, the lowest it has been against the greenback since midseptember 2010.the oneday decline was also the steepest since dec. 19, 2013, when the local currency dropped 0.69 against the greenback.for monday and tuesday combined, the taiwan dollar fell nt0.293 us0.09, or 0.93, against the us dollar.the sudden plunge largely resulted from intervention by taiwan&39s central bank at a time when many local business leaders have strongly urged the bank to allow the taiwan dollar to depreciate in line with other regional currencies to protect taiwan&39s export competitiveness.on wednesday, the taiwan dollar continued to fall, with the us dollar closing the morning session at nt31.828, up nt0.063 us0.02 against the local currency from tuesday&39s close.analysts said for every nt0.1 the taiwan dollar falls against the us dollar, ase&39s gross margin improves about 0.1 percentage points and siliconware&39s sales grow 0.3 percentage points and its gross margin rises 0.2 percentage points.ase and siliconware are not the only electronics companies in taiwan to benefit from the central bankdriven depreciation of the local currency. other electronics component makers, such as printed circuit board pcb suppliers, have high hopes that their profitability will strengthen.nan ya printed circuit board, a pcb and ic substrate manufacturing arm of conglomerate formosa plastics group, is expected to see its bottom line improve because 90 of its accounts receivable are in us dollars.in addition to the falling taiwan dollar, the losses incurred by the japanese yen could further boost nan ya&39s profitability as the costs of raw materials denominated in yen have also been on the decline.analysts said, meanwhile, that auto lamp makers depo auto parts industrial and tyc brother industrial co. will see their gross margins improve by 12 percentage points and about 2 percentage points, respectively, for every nt1 the taiwan dollar depreciates against the greenback. 
