United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks.
The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement.
The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said.
Photo courtesy of United Microelectronics Corp
The new fab is to produce chips used in premium smartphone displays, power-efficient memory chips for Internet of Things devices and next-generation connectivity chips, it said.
Together with the existing 12-inch factory, UMC would have a combined capacity of 1 million wafers in Singapore after the new fab becomes operational next year, the chipmaker said.
UMC copresident S.C. Chien (簡山傑) said in the statement that the new fab enhances the chipmaker’s ability to meet demand and enhance its supply chain resilience.
Photo courtesy of United Microelectronics Corp
The capacity expansion plan is expected to create approximately 700 jobs over the next few years, including engineers for process and equipment, as well as research and development.
Separately, UMC said it has no merger-and-acquisition deals on the table at the moment, dismissing a report from online news site Nikkei Asia that the company is restarting a merger assessment with US contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc.
More than 10 years ago, the contract chipmakers considered a merger and consolidation, but the idea was abandoned. UMC and GlobalFoundries both specialize in mature chip production.
In reporting that the two chipmakers were exploring a merger, Nikkei Asia said they were likely to create a bigger US-based company that would have broad production footprints across Asia, the US and Europe.
The report said the merger is expected to help the US gain access to mature chips amid escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
The combination of the two companies would create an entity with a larger market share of 9.3 percent, surpassing Samsung Electronics Inc’s 9.1 percent, if they went ahead with the deal, Taipei-based researcher TrendForce Corp’s (集邦科技) data showed.
GlobalFoundries ranked as the world’s No.5 contract chipmaker after UMC. The San Jose, California-based chipmaker posted a loss of US$26 million last year, while UMC reported a net profit of NT$47.21 billion (US$1.42 billion).
With this year’s Semicon Taiwan trade show set to kick off on Wednesday, market attention has turned to the mass production of advanced packaging technologies and capacity expansion in Taiwan and the US. With traditional scaling reaching physical limits, heterogeneous integration and packaging technologies have emerged as key solutions. Surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips has put technologies such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS), integrated fan-out (InFO), system on integrated chips (SoIC), 3D IC and fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) at the center of semiconductor innovation, making them a major focus at this year’s trade show, according
DEBUT: The trade show is to feature 17 national pavilions, a new high for the event, including from Canada, Costa Rica, Lithuania, Sweden and Vietnam for the first time The Semicon Taiwan trade show, which opens on Wednesday, is expected to see a new high in the number of exhibitors and visitors from around the world, said its organizer, SEMI, which has described the annual event as the “Olympics of the semiconductor industry.” SEMI, which represents companies in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, and touts the annual exhibition as the most influential semiconductor trade show in the world, said more than 1,200 enterprises from 56 countries are to showcase their innovations across more than 4,100 booths, and that the event could attract 100,000 visitors. This year’s event features 17
Germany is to establish its first-ever national pavilion at Semicon Taiwan, which starts tomorrow in Taipei, as the country looks to raise its profile and deepen semiconductor ties with Taiwan as global chip demand accelerates. Martin Mayer, a semiconductor investment expert at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), Germany’s international economic promotion agency, said before leaving for Taiwan that the nation is a crucial partner in developing Germany’s semiconductor ecosystem. Germany’s debut at the international semiconductor exhibition in Taipei aims to “show presence” and signal its commitment to semiconductors, while building trust with Taiwanese companies, government and industry associations, he said. “The best outcome
Semiconductor equipment billings in Taiwan are expected to double this year, as manufacturers in the industry are keen to expand production to meet strong global demand for artificial intelligence applications, according to SEMI, which represents companies in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain. Speaking at a news conference before the opening of Semicon Taiwan trade show tomorrow, SEMI director of industry research and statistics Clark Tseng (曾瑞榆) said semiconductor equipment billings in Taiwan are expected to grow by an annual 100 percent this year, beating an earlier estimate of 70 percent growth. He said that Taiwan received a boost from a
RSS