Sunnyvale, Calif.-based pure-play flash memory maker Spansion Inc. announced Tuesday that it has intensified its focus in the China market by partnering with Shanghai-based wafer foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC).

As part of the deal, Spansion will transfer its 65-nm MirrorBit technology to SMIC for foundry services on 300-mm wafers in China. SMIC and Spansion have also signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding which would allow SMIC to enter selected segments of the flash memory market with a license to manufacture and sell 90-nm and 65-nm and potentially future Spansion MirrorBit Quad products for the China content delivery market.

Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The company's investment in China is nothing new. Spansion has been investing in China for over 10 years, since AMD, Spansion's former parent company, established the Suzhou final manufacturing facility. Since then, Spansion has added local design centers in Suzhou and Beijing, and sales and marketing offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Through the new foundry agreement with SMIC, Spansion will have wafer manufacturing capabilities in China.

"By partnering with SMIC, a leading foundry in China, we can better serve our customers, with products made in China for the China market," Bertrand Cambou, president and CEO of Spansion, said in a statement.

Spansion is not at all alone in its focus on expanding its hold in China. Citing trade and investment activities, including sectors such as financial services, internet services, architecture and engineering, electronics manufacturing, semiconductors, venture capital and advertising, a report published last year by the Bay Area Economic Forum (BAEF) claimed that Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area's relationship with China isplaying an increasingly central role in both regions' economies.

By: DocMemory
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