Tsinghua Unigroup new fab construction kicks off
Shinee Wu, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES
Thursday 18 October 2018
China's state-owned Tsinghua Unigroup has already begun to implement its new fab projects in Nanjing and Chengdu as part of its memory business expansion. The new manufacturing sites are designed for monthly output of 300,000 12-inch wafers each, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Tsinghua Unigroup already has an existing manufacturing site in Wuhan, currently operated by subsidiary Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). Tsinghua Unigroup in 2017 disclosed plans to establish IC manufacturing sites in Wuhan, Chengdu and Nanjing, with total investment reaching US$70 billion.
Tsinghua Unigroup broke ground for its US$30 billion plant in Nanjing on September 30, the sources said. The plant will be engaged mainly in the manufacture of 3D NAND flash and DRAM chips, and will be built in two phases.
The first phase of the Nanjing plant will bring in monthly production capacity of 100,000 wafers, with about US$10.5 billion set to be invested in the facility construction, the sources noted.
On October 12, Tsinghua Unigroup broke ground for another new memory plant, the sources indicated. Located in Chengdu, the plant will be built with US$24 billion in total investment and will have 12-inch 3D NAND flash production lines installed.
In addition, Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics under Tsinghua Unigroup plans to transfer its entire 100% stake in Xian UniIC Semiconductors, which specializes in the design and development of DRAM chips, to UNIC Memory Technology under Tsinghua Unigroup. It marks Tsinghua Unigroup's move to integrate resources to enhance its memory business competitiveness, according to market observers.
Founded in August 2017, UNIC Memory Technology will be able to enhance its DRAM offering after merging with UniIC Semiconductors, the observers indicated. Meanwhile, Guoxin Microelectronics will be allowed to stay focused on its security chip business, the observers said.
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