Friday, September 19, 2003
UMC Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of Taiwan foundry United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has agreed to invest $45 million in its own name in the UMCi joint venture 300-mm wafer fab in Singapore.
The investment would secure access to UMCi's capacity for up to 2,000 wafers per month, UMC Japan said.
The announcement Thursday comes a few weeks after UMC agreed to pay Infineon Technologies AG US$118.1 million to take back Infineon's share of UMCi.
Infineon's exit from UMCi left UMC with more than 80 percent while Singapore's Economic Development Board investment arm (EDBI) is expected to retain its 15 percent equity position in UMCi.
UMCi is currently in pilot production with a focus on manufacturing products based on UMC's 130-nanometer manufacturing process technology and more advanced technologies when the facility moves to full production, UMC Japan said, Ramping to volume manufacture is expected during 2004. Production volume is expected to reach 10,000 wafers by the end of 2004, UMC Japan said.
UMC is in volume production for several customers, including Japan-based Ricoh Company Ltd.
"Our Japanese customers will benefit greatly from this investment," said H.J. Wu, president of UMCJ and also president of UMC's Japan Business Group, in a statement. "UMCJ will send several engineers to work in UMCi on our customer projects. Earnings from our UMCi activities will be counted as UMCJ revenue. When this business grows to a certain momentum level, we will pursue a local 300mm fab to further support the future business and technology requirements of Japan, the world's most advanced digital consumer electronics country," he added.
By: DocMemory
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