German company Osram AG, one of the two leading light makers in the world, had a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Wuxi plant in East China’s Jiangsu province on August 8.

The plant, which is expected to start production in 2013, has attracted at least 100 million euros ($123.90 million) in investment so far. Covering about 100,000 square meters, the new plant will be responsible for packaging LED chips, with an expected headcount of 1,600.

The Wuxi plant will support LED chip manufacturing in two factories in Regensburg, Germany, and Penang in Malaysia.

Wuxi New District is located in the south part of the city and has grown into the largest semiconductor production base in China. Aldo Kamper, president and chief executive officer of Osram Opto Semiconductors, said that the resources and talents with expertise in Wuxi help provide first-rate conditions for the company.

The Asian market takes up about 35 percent of the global lighting market share. The number is expected to rise to 45 percent this year. The Chinese lighting market was worth 8 billion euros last year, and the number is expected to at least double in 2020.

Osram, a fully owned subsidiary of Siemens AG, generated total revenue of about 5 billion euros in 2011. More than 70 percent of its revenue came from energy efficient products.