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UMC
Announces Plan to Establish the World's Most Advanced 300-mm
Semiconductor Foundry in Singapore
US$3.6 Billion
Dollar Investment is the Largest in the History of Singapore
Semiconductor Industry
Singapore, December 15, 2000-
Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC) today
announced plans to establish the world's most advanced 300-mm
wafer foundry company in Singapore's Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park.
Infineon Technologies AG signed a memorandum of understanding,
planning to take a minority stake in this company. The company
will operate as a subsidiary of UMC with a planned investment
for the project of US$3.6 billion. In a press conference hosted
by Bob Tsao, Chairman of UMC Group, and Loh Kin Wah, President
of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific, the company announced
the details of the plan to establish the independent wafer
foundry. Philip Yeo, Chairman of Singapore's Economic Development
Board, the country's lead government agency for economic development,
was also present.
The 300-mm fab will be built
in two phases, with a total planned capacity of 40,000 wafers
per month. The company will focus on System-on-Chip (SOC)
products utilizing UMC's advanced 0.13-um and 0.10-um copper/low
k process technologies jointly developed by UMC, Infineon
and IBM. Groundbreaking for the fab is scheduled for Q1 2001
with equipment move-in for the first phase (Module A) scheduled
for Q3 2002.
"UMC is very excited about expanding
our operations into Singapore. The local government has shown
tremendous vision in its commitment to attracting world leading
high technology companies, and we believe that Singapore provides
a viable location for wafer foundry services. Following the
success of NFI, our joint venture foundry in Japan, the establishment
of this company will further diversify our manufacturing operations,
enhancing our ability to serve our rapidly growing customer
base," said Chairman John Hsuan of UMC.
UMC and Infineon are both pioneers
in the implementation of 300-mm wafer production. Infineon
was the first company to ship products from a 300-mm facility,
and UMC's joint venture with Hitachi, Trecenti Technologies,
was the first pure-play foundry to achieve working silicon
for 300-mm wafers, and operates the world's first 300-mm production
fab to manufacture functional ICs.
"Our successful
development partnership with UMC is being expanded into a
manufacturing alliance to produce advanced wireline and wireless
communications ICs using 300-mm technology. This means that
this strategic Infineon business will benefit from the significant
cost advantages of 300-mm manufacturing. Teaming up with a
world-class foundry like UMC will also allow for more flexible
capacity utilization," commented Dr. Andreas von Zitzewitz,
Chief Operating Officer of Infineon Technologies
"This is an important
milestone in Infineon's 30-year history in Singapore. This
facility will complement our full-fledged sales, marketing,
production, logistics, design and research activities in the
Asia Pacific region. We're committed to Singapore, and are
delighted to be playing a role in the development of Singapore's
flourishing semiconductor industry," said Loh Kin Wah, President,
Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
The decision to locate the joint
venture in Singapore demonstrates the growing importance of
the country as a center for high value-added manufacturing.
Singapore is home to numerous advanced wafer fabs and test
and assembly facilities. This is the first announcement for
a state-of-the-art 300-mm fab on the island and represents
the largest investment in the history of its semiconductor
industry.
"This joint venture is a very
strategic project which will enhance Singapore's semiconductor
industry. In line with EDB's cluster development program,
we have several manpower programs in place to meet the industry's
demand for skilled manpower. These programs, which tap on
the potential talent pool from the universities, will be augmented
by the use of foreign talent to help seize the new opportunities
for growth in the industry, " said Philip Yeo, Chairman of
Singapore's EDB.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor
and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless
communications markets, for security systems and smartcards,
for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory
products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the
US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore
and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2000 (ending September),
the company achieved sales of Euro 7.28 billion with about
29,000 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX
index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York
Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is
available at www.infineon.com
Safe
Harbor Statement
Except for statements in respect of historical
matters, the statements in this release are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
and Exchange Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities
Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which
may cause the actual performance, financial condition or results
of operations of UMC and Infineon Technologies to be materially
different from any future such matters implied by the statements.
Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could
differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety
of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor
market and economy; acceptance and demand for products, and
technological and development risks. The risks, uncertainties
and factors include, among others, those stated in the section
entitled "Risk Factors" in our Registration Statement on Form
F-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
on September 15, 2000.
Editorial
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