http://www.eb-asia.com/registrd/news/001012.htm
DEPARTMENTS: Online News
Updated October 12, 2000

Korea: Semiconductor fabrication

Amkor/Anam and Texas Instruments extend cooperation on deep submicron
process technology
Amkor Technology, Inc, and Anam Semiconductor Inc have announced a new
long-term cooperative agreement with Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI),
for the production of advanced logic semiconductors. Under terms of the
agreement, Anam Semiconductor and Amkor Technology will replicate TI's
0.5-micron metal pitch, traditional metallization process in Anam
Semiconductor's wafer fabrication facility, located in Buchon, Republic of
Korea.

The Anam wafer fab is producing 25,000 wafers per month, using 1.0-micron
metal pitch and 0.7-micron metal pitch processes. Anam is expanding the
facility's capacity to enable production of 30,000 200 mm wafers per month.
This includes 0.35-micron and 0.25-micron gate length semiconductor
processes that Amkor previously licensed from TI, in addition to the
0.18-micron process replicated at the plant earlier this year. Amkor sells
wafers, and tested die and fully packaged semiconductors based upon these
process technologies. Full production of 0.18 micron technology begins in
Q4 2000.

"Working with TI allows us to continue our long-term vision to provide
turnkey services, from customer design support to wafer fabrication,
assembly and test," said Eric Larson, Amkor executive vice president. "With
this agreement in place, Amkor has secured the capability to provide Texas
Instruments and our other customers with leading process technology and
services that meet or exceed the requirements outlined in the current
Semiconductor Industry Association roadmaps," added Larson.

Thailand: Semiconductor fabrication

Thai wafer fab plant in the offing
Three foreign electronics consulting companies have expressed a commitment
to participate in Thailand's proposed $1.2-billion wafer fabrication plant
project. The three companies are US-based LG Mei, and Japan's Kanematsu Co
and Nomura Securities, according to Itti Rittaporn, director of the
microelectronics project at the National Electronics and Computer
Technology Centre (Nectec).

Dr Itti said the consultants had proposed to participate in the wafer
project as well as find potential investors. He added that LG Mei had
offered to find investors to provide $700 million; Kanematsu would consider
investing $10 million in exchange for a partnership, as well as providing
$400 million in loans supported by Japanese investors; and Nomura had
offered to provide at least $200 million loans backed by Japanese banks.
The three groups might participate as a consortium, he said, but they had
all stressed that they would not make a decision until they saw a firm
commitment by the Thai government and local investors to take part as well.
LG Mei wanted the state and local partners to invest at least $350 million
in the venture, Dr Itti said.

To date, the locally based MMC Sittipol Group has proposed to enter a joint
venture by offering its 1,000-rai land bank, worth up to $842,105, for
building the wafer plant. Dr Itti said Nectec had short-listed other
prospective local investors and is waiting for the state's participation.
If the fab materialises, Thailand hopes to generate up to $700 million in
revenue a year, with an estimated $250 million in profit. The project would
then break even within five years. Construction of the plant would take
around two-and-a-half years.

Taiwan: Wireless communications

Qualcomm enters Subscriber Unit R&D agreement with Chunghwa Telecom Labs
Qualcomm Incorporated, a leader in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
digital wireless technology, has announced that it has entered into a
subscriber unit research and development agreement with Chunghwa Telecom
Labs (CHTTL), the technology development group of the state-owned
telecommunication operator in Taiwan. Under the terms of the agreement,
CHTTL will develop and evaluate prototype subscriber units based on
Qualcomm's third-generation (3G) cdma2000 1x technology. Qualcomm will also
provide CHTTL with CDMA chipsets and system software, relevant
documentation and technical support required for its cdma2000 1x research
and development projects.

"Qualcomm supports CHTTL's efforts as they evaluate third-generation CDMA
technology for future deployments of its wireless services," said Marvin
Blecker, senior vice president of technology transfer for Qualcomm. "This
R&D agreement will serve to further establish Chunghwa Telecom as a leading
provider of next-generation wireless services and Qualcomm as a leading
developer of global digital wireless communications technologies."
"cdma2000 technology will allow CHTTL to build a solid foundation for 3G
CDMA capabilities and speed up Chunghwa Telecom's future service
offerings," said Dr. John C. C. Hsueh, president of CHTTL. "cdma2000
technology will increase Chunghwa Telecom's competence in the 3G mobile
wireless communications market and allow it to provide high quality service
to its customers."

CHTTL, founded in 1969, is a leading telecommunication R&D unit in Taiwan
and a research arm of Chunghwa Telecom. CHTTL aims at providing technical
support to the operations of Chunghwa Telecom, establishing leading-edge
technologies and supporting governmental policy requirements.

Hong Kong: Network communications

Global One provides Internet infrastructure for JUCC
Telecoms carrier Global One and the Joint Universities Computer Centre
(JUCC) have announced new Internet connectivity for the Hong Kong Academic
and Research Network (HARNET), which supports the growing Internet
bandwidth requirements for the teaching, learning and research activities
of eight local tertiary institutions.

The new Internet connectivity provided by Global One for the HARNET
backbone includes provisioning of a 48Mbps Global IP port for the eight
institutions, plus managed routers and facility management services.
The upgraded Internet connectivity to HARNET will provide university
students and professors with more efficiency and speed in Internet access
to innovative and technology-rich applications and research activities,
including e-mail, web-based courses, distance learning, tele-medicine,
multimedia and videoconferencing. The increased speed will also improve the
communication and collaboration among academic institutions both locally
and internationally.

The HARNET backbone also provides Internet connectivity to JUCC affiliate
members and network members including the Open University of Hong Kong, the
Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong Public Libraries and the Hong Kong
Examination Authority

Said Gopi Gopinath, Global One senior VP and head of Asia Pacific, "Our
goal is to provide the JUCC with high-quality Internet access, using the
leading-edge Global IP service in a package that allows participating
tertiary educational institutions to have higher-speed efficiency in
conducting research and educational programs."

China: Communications ICs

IDT opens Shanghai office, addresses growing demand for communications ICs
IDT, Inc, a leading communications IC provider, has opened a new sales
support office in Shanghai, to tap the fast growing demand in semiconductor
products for communications applications in China.

The office is an important step in the company's strategic response to the
rapid growth of demand for its communications IC products within the huge
China market. The new office comes as China is on the verge of accession to
the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is strongly supported by IDT.
The new office will work closely with the company's Asia Pacific
headquarters to manage and coordinate all of the company's sales and
marketing activities in China and also provide design, technical and
engineering support for customers in China.

"China is our fastest-growing market worldwide," said Jack Lin, IDT's Asia
Pacific manager of sales and marketing. "With a large population and a
relatively limited communications infrastructure combined with China's
impending WTO entry, we believe that IDT's semiconductor communications
products provide China with the components it requires to develop its
communication structure."

China is Asia Pacific's largest market for semiconductors, with a volume
expected to total $15-17 billion in 2001, according to Gartner Dataquest.
Communications applications are expected to be an important driver of demand.

India: Network communications

Global Online India aims to have India "globally linked"
Global Online India, Inc, which launched its Indian internet portal only
two months ago, has vowed to help India get "globally linked" to the rest
of the telephony world now that the Indian Government has just agreed to
open its telephony market to competition. In addition to its international
meta - hub portal, Global Online India.com, the company is planning on
providing both internet access and global telephony services to the over 1
billion people of the second largest population base on earth.

" This is not just a "concept company", we have worked very hard to build
and deploy what we feel is truly the number one global internet portal in
all of India and now our focus will be on providing high speed, broadband
internet access and crystal clear, reliable telephony services in India as
the regulatory environment allows," said Dr. Christopher W. Hartnett,
Chairman and founder of Global Online India.

Global Online India is one of the premier providers of e-commerce services
and e-business solutions to the 1.0 million Internet users in India and to
the approximate 20.0 million Indian expatriates around the world through
its meta-hub, www.GOLindia.com.

This international meta-hub currently provides a range of business services
such as: online forms for Indian taxation, customs, and import/export
businesses; a loan finding service; Indian rail, air and movie tickets;
online insurance and credit card applications; online medical and legal
advice; and web stock trading and advanced technical analysis; among others.

Japan: Network communications

NEC and Integrated Telecom Express announce reference design for ADSL
NEC Corporation, together with its semiconductor arm in the United States,
NEC Electronics Inc., and Integrated Telecom Express, Inc (ITeX), has
announced the availability of a complete turnkey reference design for
asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) solutions, such as small
office/home office (SoHo) routers, modems, residential gateways and
Internet appliances. Available through ITeX, the joint reference design
incorporates an NEC network controller, based on the MIPS architecture, and
ITeX ADSL hardware and software technology to provide an integrated,
versatile and cost-effective solution for customer premises equipment (CPE).
In addition, the reference design comes packaged with Wind River System,
Inc.'s VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS), as well as a free trial
version of Wind River's Tornado-II system development tool and C compiler.
NEC's network controller is powered by a high-performance 100MHz MIPS CPU
host processor, the VR4120, and the complete NEC/ITeX reference design was
demonstrated, with MIPS Technologies, at the recent Microprocessor Forum,
San Jose.

"The tremendous growth of the home networking and SoHo markets has put
increased pressure on system designers to come to market quickly with
next-generation DSL products," said Dr. Hitoshi Yoshizawa, vice president
of NEC Electronics' Communications Strategic Business unit (SBU). "By
providing this complete turnkey solution, which combines our
high-performance network processor with best-of-breed solutions from ITeX
and Wind River, we are providing our customers with a head start on their
next design, as well as significant cost savings."

Singapore: Semiconductor manufacturing

US chip maker sets up Singapore subsidiary
US-based semiconductor company, Alpine Microsystems, has set up a
subsidiary in Singapore to provide regional sales, marketing, research and
development and manufacturing operations.

Besides providing a customer and applications center, the Singapore unit of
the designer and manufacturer of System in Package (SiP) products for the
electronics industry will provide its Campbell, California-based parent
company with a regional presence in Singapore.

"A strong research and development focus on high-performance system
packaging, such as the Institute of Microelectronics and the Gintic
Institute of Manufacturing Technology, was an important consideration in
our selection of Singapore," said Buck Feltman, executive vice-president of
the parent company and a director at the Singapore unit.

"Singapore welcomes Alpine to be part of our vibrant semiconductor
industry. The firm's advanced IC package design and solution activities are
in line with our Industry 21 vision to develop knowledge-driven industries
in Singapore. Alpine would find our research institutes keen partners in
further technology development in support of their operations here," said
Teo Ming Kian, co-chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

China: Telecommunications

Andrew to expand and upgrade training institute in Suzhou
Andrew Corporation has unveiled plans for a major expansion of its Andrew
Institute training facility in Suzhou, southeastern China. The newly
announced plans represent an important upgrade of the Institute's Suzhou
premises, which currently provide product training for Andrew customers
from China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.

The Andrew Institute will expand its Suzhou facility from a single
classroom to two purpose-built classrooms for Connector Attachment and
Terrestrial Microwave (TMW) Training. These classrooms will include unique
training areas with scale model towers and TMW antennas used in the
intensive, hands-on training courses. The new Suzhou training center will
be housed in Andrew Corporation's facility in the Suzhou/Singapore
Industrial Park and will be completed by March 2001.

"The expansion of the Andrew Institute facility in Suzhou represents not
only the popularity of these unique training courses but also our
continuing commitment to the market in China," said Guy M. Campbell.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Corporation.
The Andrew Institute in Suzhou has two full-time, locally-trained,
Mandarin-speaking trainers. The Institute also brings in course experts
from any of its other facilities around the world. All Andrew Institute
course work, including presentations and printed materials, is offered in
both English and Mandarin.

The Suzhou facility is one of six Andrew-owned and -operated training
Institutes around the world. Suzhou's current capacity is for 10 students;
however, when the expansion is complete, the center will accommodate up to
30 students.

India: Information technology
Uninterruptible Power Supplies key to India's IT revolution

According to Market Analysis by Frost & Sullivan, India's drive to be an
information technology (IT) giant is now highly dependent on
Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS).

Many grid-based power projects fail to meet the demand for good, clean
power from large companies in IT and IT-enabled services. Other industries
such as telecommunications, financial services and manufacturing firms are
now functioning in networked environments that require very high levels of
protection against power outages. Additionally, small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) and small office-home offices (SOHOs) are increasing
their computing power in order to grow, thereby adding more pressure on the
weak power infrastructure. UPS vendors cannot afford to miss such
opportunities.

According to new strategic research by Frost & Sullivan, "Indian
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Markets," this market will grow
significantly because most companies cannot afford to wait until power
transmissions improve. The study forecasts this dynamic market will reach
$590.2 million in revenues over the forecast period.

Among all technology segments, online UPS is typically favored by large
companies and currently dominates the Indian market in revenue. While it
will continue to prosper over the forecast period, the report predicts the
most dominant product will be line-interactive UPS. Companies operating in
networked environments who need less than 3 KVA of power could shift to
this technology from micropower online units because of its relatively low
price. In addition, as line-interactive prices drop, SME/SOHO segments
increasingly prefer them to offline (standby) units for their superior
power conditioning abilities.
 

http://www.semiconductorfabtech.com/journals/edition.12/section1.shtml
IC Foundries: a Driving Force in the IC Industry
Bill McClean, IC Insights, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, USA

Pure-play foundry companies (companies that focus entirely on producing
ICs for other companies) are some of the most aggressive spenders on IC
capacity additions. Their sales are expected to approach $10 billion in
2000. Growth in foundry business can be expected to attract new
competitors. Some new entrants may be in the form of joint ventures. IC
Insights believes that the emergence of pure-play foundries will have a
major impact in the future IC industry.
 

http://www.electronicstimes.com/news/10_4_2000.html
Wafer demand set to grow

Wafer demand from fabless semiconductor companies will grow more than 39%
this year and more than 48% the next, according to the Fabless
Semiconductor Association (FSA). The FSA's 2000 Survey shows that revenues
for fabless com-panies will correspondingly grow at 41% in 2000 compared
with 31% for 1999. The market capitalisation for public fabless companies
has quadrupled in the last year to more than $200bn, says the FSA.
Fifty-four per cent of fabless companies now serve the communications
segment, up from 31% in 1999, although 27% still rely on supplying the PC
market.

The main beneficiaries of this boom in demand are the pure-play foundries.
Of a record 101 participants in the survey, 67 use Chartered Semiconductor,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing or United Microelectronics, with nearly
62% demanding processes at line widths of 0.25µm or lower. The FSA's
forecast tallies with what the foundries themselves are saying: TSMC's
capital expenditure is $4.4bn this year, and $3bn for each of the following
two years. According to Dataquest, foundries will produce more than 45% of
all wafers by 2010, and will support up to half of total semiconductor
revenues.

But there is a downside to being fabless. Although start-up funding is
active, particularly in Europe, and more companies are registering for
initial public offerings, Jodi Shelton, executive director of the FSA, says
capacity limitations may place a ceiling on the growth. "Capacity may
become a serious concern to fabless growth," he said. "The capacity crunch
is a particularly serious issue for start- ups trying to get prototypes to
customers quickly, considering foundries are running at over 100%
utilisation."

l World semiconductor sales rose to $14.56bn in February, up from $10.92bn
a year earlier, according to figures just published by the Semiconductor
Industry Association. Sales in Europe grew by 25.1% to $3.12bn, but the
Asia/Pacific region recorded the highest growth, of 45.4% to $3.71bn.
 

http://www.fabtech.org/industry.news/0012/15.04.shtml

UMC announces plan to establish the world's most advanced 300-mm
semiconductor foundry in Singapore.

U.S. $3.6 Billion Dollar Investment is the Largest in the History of
Singapore Semiconductor Industry

Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation today announced plans to
establish the world's most advanced 300-mm wafer foundry company in
Singapore's Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park.

Infineon Technologies AG signed a memorandum of understanding, planning to
take a minority stake in this company. The company will operate as a
subsidiary of UMC with a planned investment for the project of U.S. $3.6
billion. In a press conference hosted by Bob Tsao, Chairman of UMC Group,
and Loh Kin Wah, President of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific, the
company announced the details of the plan to establish the independent
wafer foundry. Philip Yeo, Chairman of Singapore's Economic Development
Board, the country's lead government agency for economic development, was
also present.

The 300-mm fab will be built in two phases, with a total planned capacity
of 40,000 wafers per month. The company will focus on System-on-Chip (SOC)
products utilizsing advanced Worldlogic 0.13-micron and 0.10-micron
copper/low k process technologies jointly developed by UMC, Infineon and
IBM. Groundbreaking for the fab is scheduled for Q1 2001 with equipment
move-in for the first phase (Module A) scheduled for Q3 2002.

"UMC is very excited about expanding our operations into Singapore. The
local government has shown tremendous vision in its commitment to
attracting world leading high technology companies, and we believe that
Singapore provides a viable location for wafer foundry services. Following
the success of NFI, our joint venture foundry in Japan, the establishment
of this company will further diversify our manufacturing operations,
enhancing our ability to serve our rapidly growing customer base," said
Chairman John Hsuan of UMC.

UMC and Infineon are both pioneers in the implementation of 300-mm wafer
production. Infineon was the first company to ship products from a 300-mm
facility, and UMC's joint venture with Hitachi, Trecenti Technologies, was
the first pure-play foundry to achieve working silicon for 300-mm wafers,
and operates the world's first 300-mm production fab to manufacture
functional ICs.

"Our successful development partnership with UMC is being expanded into a
manufacturing alliance to produce advanced wireline and wireless
communications ICs using 300-mm technology. This means that this strategic
Infineon business will benefit from the significant cost advantages of
300-mm manufacturing. Teaming up with a world-class foundry like UMC will
also allow for more flexible capacity utilisation," commented Dr. Andreas
von Zitzewitz, Chief Operating Officer of Infineon Technologies.

"This is an important milestone in Infineon's 30-year history in
Singapore. This facility will complement our full-fledged sales, marketing,
production, logistics, design and research activities in the Asia Pacific
region. We're committed to Singapore, and are delighted to be playing a
role in the development of Singapore's flourishing semiconductor industry,"
said Loh Kin Wah, President, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

The decision to locate the joint venture in Singapore demonstrates the
growing importance of the country as a centre for high value-added
manufacturing. Singapore is home to numerous advanced wafer fabs and test
and assembly facilities. This is the first announcement for a
state-of-the-art 300-mm fab on the island and represents the largest
investment in the history of its semiconductor industry.

"This joint venture is a very strategic project which will enhance
Singapore's semiconductor industry. In line with EDB's cluster development
program, we have several manpower programs in place to meet the industry's
demand for skilled manpower. These programs, which tap on the potential
talent pool from the universities, will be augmented by the use of foreign
talent to help seize the new opportunities for growth in the industry,"
said Philip Yeo, Chairman of Singapore's EDB.

For more information try: <http://www.umc.com>