Intel makes manufacturing move in China
Mike Clendenin
EE Times
06/22/2004, 12:00 PM ET
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Intel Corp. and a Chinese startup have struck a deal on the transfer of manufacturing technology and equipment, believed to be the first such deal that the CPU giant has made in China.
The company will license 0.35 and 0.25 micron CMOS process technology to Nanotech Corp., based outside of Shanghai in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. Intel will also help train Nanotech staff and sell enough 200-mm wafer equipment to the firm to produce 15,000 wafers per month.
Other details, such as whether Intel took cash or an equity stake as payment, could not be immediately confirmed by an Intel spokesperson in Hong Kong.
Nanotech is a newcomer to China's foundry scene. It plans to spend $600 million to build a 200-mm wafer plan that will come on line in 2005, a spokesman said.
By then, the company will have to battle stiff competition from a host of foundries staking out positions in China, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and smaller, specialized foundries like Central Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.
There is also market speculation that the next downturn will strike toward the end of next year.
During the past few years, as China has emerged as a fledgling global player in semiconductors, there have been rumors that Intel has considered building a fab in China, or at least outsourcing some of its products there.
The Intel spokesperson said Nanotech would not perform foundry work for it "at this time." Intel does outsource some of its products, most notably chip sets, to Taiwanese firms, and it also packages chips in China. But the firm keeps close watch over its CPU and advanced flash products. |
