Company Update: UTAC, SMIC's China venture factory starts output

SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters)

The following statement was released by the company:
Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Chengdu) Corporation Holds Grand Opening Ceremony for Assembly and Testing Facility

Shanghai, China. March 17th, 2006- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) held a grand opening ceremony for its semiconductor assembly and testing joint venture with United Test & Assembly Center Ltd based in Chengdu, named Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Chengdu) Corporation, also known as AT2.

Approximately 300 guests, including customers, investors, banks, strategic partners, vendors, industry experts, various government representatives, and Mr. Lee Joon Chung, Group President & CEO of UTAC attended the ceremony.

The assembly and testing facility is located in Chengdu's Special Export Manufacturing Zone. The total land area is 40,668 square meters.

Construction area is 215,000 square meters, including approximately 1,000 square meters of clean room. Investment will amount to approximately US$175 million in the first phase.

As an investment entered by one of the leading foundries in the world, SMIC, and UTAC, a leading semiconductor test & assembly company, AT2 services SMIC's global customers and also China's growing spectrum of semiconductor activities with a comprehensive suite of technology and product.

AT2 has commenced pilot production on TSOP. Initial IC packaging product is expected to focus on TSOP, SO8, TSSOP, PDIP, TO220 and DPAK in the first quarter of 2006 and mass production will be expected to produce up to 10M to 100M pieces chips per month for assembly line according to the requirements of different products.

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Richard R. Chang, President and CEO of SMIC, said, "China has become the largest IC market in the world. With support from our partners and the Chengdu government, we aim to offer a complete turn-key solution in China for our global customers. We are already seeing strong demand for our services and I believe the partnership between SMIC and UTAC will continue to serve the needs from customers here in China and around the world."

"We are delighted that our maiden joint venture with our partner has begun operations and is already seeing strong demand," said Mr. Lee Joon Chung, Group President and CEO of UTAC.

"The semiconductor market in China is growing rapidly and we believe that this new facility will complement UTAC group's existing operations in Shanghai to better serve our customers."

Mr. Ge Honglin, the Mayor of Chengdu, said, "The opening of SMIC (Chengdu) marks the new milestone of SMIC's development in China, and we appreciate the opportunity to cooperate with SMIC. We would continue to try our best to support SMIC's development with highly efficient services to create a good investment environment and infrastructure for corporations in Chengdu."

[Outline of Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Chengdu) Corporation]

Company Name: Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Chengdu) Corporation

Date of Establishment: December 24, 2004

Total Investment: US$ 175 Million

Address: High Tech West Area, Chengdu City, China

Cleanroom Area: Approximately 11,000 square meters

Estimated Production Capacity: 10 to 100 Million chips/month with various products

Other Articles on this Blog.

United Test And Assembly Centre purchased new building for expansion

United Test and Assembly Center - Good Times Ahead


Singapore's UTAC to replace Great Eastern in STI