Chartered Semiconductor Manu-facturing Ltd, the third-biggest maker of custom chips, is looking for acquisitions to expand its customers and technology, Chief Executive Barry Waite said.
Acquiring newer technology will help Chartered take on more advanced chipmaking contracts, allowing it push up prices and compete with bigger rivals such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (
The company isn't looking for more capacity, as weaker demand has left more than half of its factory equipment idle. With customers cutting orders, Chartered suffered a US$30.9 million loss in the first quarter, its first since going public in 1999. The company also expects to double that in the second quarter.
"I don't think he's going to make any acquisition with the low utilization," said Joseph Wat, a senior fund manager at Invesco Asset Management Singapore Ltd, which manages US$12 billion in Asia excluding Japan. "It's a global problem and it will take one or two more quarters to work that out."
So far, Chartered is already building a US$3.5 billion plant set to begin producing in 2002. That's also the biggest among six factories at its Singapore headquarters.
"We have to be adding value if we were to do an acquisition away from our `single-campus' concept," Waite said. "There are many, many semiconductor factories out there for sale for capacity, but we have to do it for a lot more than capacity."
Waite said Chartered has "a healthy balance sheet" with US$2.5 billion in cash and loans lined up for purchases.
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