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Hitachi and UMC to Establish 300mm Wafer
Semiconductor Joint Venture
TOKYO and TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 27, 1999--Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi) (NYSE:HIT - news) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) today announced that they have come to an agreement regarding the principal terms of a joint venture company to manufacture 300mm wafers with leading-edge process technologies of 0.18-micron and beyond. The new company will be based in the N3 building of Hitachi's LSI Manufacturing Operation in Hitachinaka-city, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. The site is expected to become a strategic manufacturing facility for both Hitachi and UMC, combining Hitachi's advanced process and manufacturing technology with UMC's advanced technology and world-class silicon foundry expertise. Half of the
capacity of the joint venture will be reserved for Hitachi's products, with the other half reserved for products supplied to UMC's
foundry customers. The joint venture will be established by the end of February 2000 and start manufacturing operations from
2001.
''The semiconductor market is expected to continue growing, driven by rapidly increasing demand for electronic devices, such as
PCs, mobile communications and digital consumer products. Through the joint venture, Hitachi and UMC will better meet the growing demand for advanced ICs, including next-generation system-on-chip designs. Hitachi and UMC expect that the joint investment will accelerate the ramping-up of production and maximize returns on investment for the new company,'' said Hitachi's Tadashi Ishibashi, President & Chief Executive Officer of Semiconductor & Integrated Circuits.
''This joint venture will result in one of the world's first 300mm wafer plants in mass production. It is being established in response
to strong customer demand for advanced technologies and increased capacity. With the wealth of technological and manufacturing
expertise that UMC and Hitachi bring to this venture, we are confident of its success. Our foundry customers will welcome this
partnership,'' said Robert Tsao, Chairman of UMC.
Hitachi will contribute its 0.18-micron and beyond process technology, as well as its experience in the development of 300mm manufacturing systems. UMC will also contribute its 0.18-micron and beyond technology to the company, as well as provide a wealth of know-how in silicon foundry operations. The synergy created by the combination of the two companies' expertise will ensure that the joint venture leads the industry in the mass production of 300mm wafers, and also provides world-leading cost-performance and quick turn around times (QTAT).
Outline of Joint Venture
Company Name: To be decided
Head Office: 751 Horiguchi, Hitachinaka-city,
Ibaraki prefecture, Japan
(Currently, N3 building of Hitachi's LSI
Manufacturing Operation)
Establishment: End of February 2000
Equity Position: Hitachi 60%, UMC 40%
Representative: To be assigned by Hitachi
Business: Manufacture and sales of semiconductors
Production: Pilot production starts in January 2001
Mass production starts in April 2001
Capacity: 7,000 wafers per month by 300mm
in the 2nd half of 2001
Initial Investment: Approx. 70 billion yen for 7,000-wafer
capacity
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1998 (ended
March 31, 1999) consolidated sales of 7,977 billion yen ($65.9 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of
products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on
Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's web site at hitachi.co.jp.
*At an exchange rate of 121 yen to the dollar
About United Microelectronics Corporation
UMC is a world leading semiconductor foundry with eight wafer fabs (including six 8''fabs) located in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science
Park. UMC also operates the only dedicated foundry in Japan, Nippon Foundry Inc. (NFI). UMC is a leader in foundry technology
and expects capacity to reach 2.4 million wafers per year in 2000 with over 50% for 0.25-micron and beyond technologies. UMC
is currently in volume production of 0.18-um technology and will offer copper-interconnect and 0.15-micron logic technology to its
foundry customers in the first quarter of 2000. The company has started construction on a 300mm facility in Taiwan that is
expected to enter production by mid-year 2001 with a design capacity of 30,000 wafers per month. UMC has marketing and
customer support offices located in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. UMC can be found on the web at
umc.com.tw. |
