Some good news on the capex front:
It's official--Motorola announces $1.5 billion chip-making plant in China
Semiconductor Business News
(08/21/00, 09:03:43 AM EDT)
TIANJIN , China -- A month after the move was prematurely disclosed by local authorities here, Motorola Inc. and the City of Tianjin announced approval of a planned $1.9 billion manufacturing complex, which will include a $1.5 billion chip-production operation and a $400 million facility for wireless telecommunications products.
Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector has been working on the initial stages of the chip facilities here while it awaited formal approval of the huge complex in Tianjin. In late July, information leaked about the government's approval of the complex, which will be capable of designing ICs, fabricating wafers and producing finished telecommunications products. Motorola said the one-site manufacturing concept will enable it to respond more quickly to customer needs in the region.
The Motorola Tianjin Integrated Semiconductor Manufacturing Complex--dubbed MOS-17 by the U.S. chip maker--will focus on producing integrated solutions for wireless communications, automotive electronics, and advanced consumer products. The initial products will be shipped to customers in China and the nearby Asia-Pacific market, according to Motorola semiconductor officials, based in Austin, Tex.
"The site will become one of the largest integrated semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world, and the most advanced in China," said Christopher B. Galvin, chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola Inc., based in Shaumberg, Ill. "The site will be a key contributor towards moving us closer to our customers in China and Asia as those markets continue to expand. The result will be greater market opportunities for Motorola, supplied by our China facilities and exports from the U.S. and other locations."
Motorola's MOS-17 fab is expected to employ 2,400 workers when it reaches full production in 2002. Motorola has approval from U.S. export control authorities to use 0.35-micron wafer processes at the China fab. The company is pressing the U.S. government to allow it to upgrade to 0.25-micron processing at MOS-17-especially since the Japanese government is allowing NEC Corp. to transfer quarter-micron technology to its NEC Hua Hong Semiconductor joint venture in Shanghai.
The semiconductor market in China is growing at 17% per year and is forecasted to reach $18 billion by 2004, according to Motorola.
As part of today's announcement, Motorola said it will expand its current manufacturing facility in the Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area (TEDA). The operation will focus on producing new telecommunications and handset products, such as second-generation (2G), 2.5G, and 3G units. |
