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[News] Explore the Foundry Landscape in Singapore as UMC’s Plant Nears Completion Mid-Year
Recent reports have suggested that UMC’s new facility in Singapore is set to be completed by mid-2024, with initial production expected to commence in early 2025.
UMC has announced that, in response to the demand for capacity expansion, the board of directors has approved a capital expenditure execution plan of USD 39.8 million. The first phase of the new facility is planned to have a monthly production capacity of 30,000 wafers, offering 22/28nm processes, with a total investment of USD 5 billion.
Semiconductor Companies Target Singapore
Influenced by complex international situations and other factors, the global semiconductor supply chain is undergoing a shift, with high expectations placed on the Southeast Asian region, particularly Singapore.
In the wafer manufacturing sector, IDM companies like Micron, Infineon, NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, and others, along with foundry enterprises like GlobalFoundries, UMC, and Vanguard International Semiconductor(VIS) are investing in building facilities in Singapore.
In 2010, GlobalFoundries acquired Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and took over its fab. In September 2023, GlobalFoundries announced the official launch of its USD 4 billion investment in expanding the manufacturing plant in Singapore, further expanding its global production capacity.
The expanded fab is projected to produce an additional 450,000 300mm wafers annually, raising GlobalFoundries’ total production capacity in Singapore to approximately 1.5 million 300mm wafers per year.
UMC has been operating its 12-inch fab in Singapore for over 20 years. In February 2022, UMC announced that its board of directors approved plans to expand a new advanced fab in the Fab12i campus in Singapore.
At that time, UMC anticipated that the new facility would commence production at the end of 2024. The latest updates indicate that the new facility is expected to begin production in early 2025.
VIS currently operates an 8-inch fab in Singapore. In October 2023, media reports indicated that VIS plans to establish its first 12-inch fab in Singapore. This facility is primarily intended to meet the demand for automotive chips. The investment for this project is estimated to be at least USD 2 billion, and it is anticipated to produce 28nm chips.
Continuous Expansion in Foundry Capacity
Despite the sluggish demand in the consumer electronics market, the pace of expansion for foundries remains unaffected.
Covering 2022 to 2024, the World Fab Forecast report has shown that the global semiconductor industry plans to begin operation of 82 new volume fabs, including 11 projects in 2023 and 42 projects in 2024 spanning wafer sizes ranging from 300mm to 100mm.
Among the newly added capacity, China is expected to experience rapid growth, securing the top position, followed by Taiwan, maintaining the second position. Subsequently, the rankings include South Korea, Japan, the Americas, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
According to TrendForce‘s statistics, the number of foundries in China has reached 44 and is expected to increase by 32 in the future, mainly focusing on mature nodes.
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(Photo credit: UMC)
Please note that this article cites information from DRAMeXchange
