VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Pte Ltd (VSMC), the joint venture between Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) and NXP Semiconductors NV, yesterday broke ground on a 12-inch wafer factory in Singapore in a move to increase supply chain resilience.
The Hsinchu-based Vanguard’s first 12-inch fab in Singapore is to start initial production in 2027, and production is expected to expand to 55,000 wafers a month in 2029, it said in a statement.
Vanguard said it would consider a second-phase investment if the first fab proves successful.
Photo: Bloomberg
The venture, 60 percent owned by Vanguard, plans to invest US$7.8 billion in the fab and focuses on specialty IC foundry services, VSMC and Vanguard chairman Leuh Fang (方略) said in the statement.
The fab would support 130-nanometer to 40-nanometer technologies for the production of mixed-signal, power management and analogue products, targeting automotive, industrial, consumer and mobile markets, Vanguard said.
NXP president and CEO Kurt Sievers said the new fab would support the company’s growth and boost its geographic resilience at a competitive cost.
The Dutch company said earlier this year that it was seeking to diversify its manufacturing geographically to further enhance chip supply resilience together with its Taiwanese foundry partners amid the uncertainty of geopolitical tensions and natural disasters.
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