IBM to Build $300 Mln Shanghai Chip-Packaging Plant:
10/27/00 2:54:00 PM
Source: Bloomberg News
URL: cnetinvestor.com
Beijing, Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- International Business Machines Corp., the world's largest computer maker, said it will build a $300 million factory in Shanghai to produce advanced semiconductor assemblies to help meet growing demand.
The 500,000-square-foot factory is scheduled to open in April 2002 and will employ 1,800 workers, Director of China Operations Arthur Yarzumbeck said. The circuitry will be used in devices for the Internet, computer networks, computer servers and wireless devices.
''We have put more into China than probably any other operations in the world in the last ten years,'' said Henry Chow, Chairman and CEO of the IBM Greater China Group. ''The investment in a new chip-packaging facility in Shanghai signifies a new phase in IBM operations in China.''
IBM, which says it wants to be the ''arms supplier'' for the Internet, foresees huge demand for specialized semiconductors because of the Web. These chips include advanced circuitry that forms the brains of servers running Web sites, of wireless devices that connect to the Internet, and of the networking equipment forming the Internet's communications backbone.
Cards, Carriers
IBM will produce two types of ''carriers'' -- devices that connect silicon chips to circuit cards -- at the Shanghai plant. One type of technology that will be employed to make micro cards is about eight years old. The other, HyperBGA, is only months old. The China facility should be the world's largest carrier producer, Yarzumbeck said.
The devices will be used in products ranging from handheld electronic organizers such as the Palm and in Sony digital video cameras. They are also used in networking applications and Web servers.
The computer company said earlier this month it would invest $5 billion globally to build and expand chipmaking plants to meet expected demand for semiconductors.
The investment, to be made over the next two to three years, includes building a chip factory in East Fishkill, New York, that IBM said will be the world's most technologically advanced.
Shanghai's Pudong New Area was chosen for the site over at least nine other locations considered in four countries. IBM would not say which sites lost out. While most of the carriers will be exported, Chow hopes that the company will soon be able to sell many of the devices inside China.
''As to who are the Chinese customers who will need them three years down the road, time will tell,'' Chow said.
Shanghai was chosen because of the potential of the Chinese domestic market and municipal financial incentives, among other factors, Chow said.
IBM has about 2,800 employees in China in 11 cities, plus 6,000 people who work in IBM joint ventures. The new Shanghai plant and a new joint venture plant with Nokia under construction in Beijing will add another 2,800 workers to that total. |
