Chartered Semiconductor Eyes More Manufacturing Pacts With Japanese Firms
By Linus Chua
Singapore, April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Chartered Semiconductor
Manufacturing Ltd., the world's No. 3 chip foundry, said it plans
to expand its business in Japan as more companies in that country
farm out production work.
The Singapore-based company, which had 3 percent of its first-
quarter sales of $238.4 million from Japan, from close to nothing
in the first half of 1999, also named a new managing director for
the country and beefed up its sales force there.
``We do sense there's a large opportunity there for us.'
Barry Waite, Chartered's chief executive, said in a conference
call for analysts and investors.
In January, Chartered added Tsugio Makimoto, who's the
corporate chief technologist at Hitachi Ltd. -- Japan's biggest
electronics maker -- to its board of directors. Makimoto will help
cultivate business in Japan.
The step comes as more Japanese chipmakers such as NEC Corp.
and Fujitsu Ltd. move production to Taiwan and Singapore, which
increases the need for services from companies such as Chartered.
In December, Hitachi said it will shift output of its least
sophisticated dynamic random-access memory chips to its joint
venture in Singapore by the end of 2001 to boost efficiency.
New Customers
For Chartered, tapping a new source of customers will help it
garner more business as it invests more to expand production
capacity to ride the semiconductor industry's recovery from a two-
year slump.
About 15 cranes now sit on its empty lot in northern
Singapore, where it's building its sixth plant at the cost of $2.1
billion. It had sales of $694.3 million in 1999 and it expects
capacity to double by the end of next year with the new factory.
The U.S. remains Chartered's biggest market, making up 64
percent of sales. Europe, where Ericsson LB is its key customer,
contributed 19 percent. Asia excluding Japan added 14 percent.
Waite declined to elaborate on the potential customers in Japan.
Chartered's shares rose as much as 40 cents, or 3.2 percent,
to S$13.10, its gain for a third day after six days of decline. It
recently traded at S$12.90. |
