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To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (37240)	9/12/2000 9:32:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Mosel Vitelic may be moving closer to 300-mm fab in Canadian Company officials in Taiwan expect to make decision on plant's location in October; eastern Germany is also being considered By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (09/12/00, 09:22:16 AM EDT) HSINCHU, Taiwan -- Taiwan's Mosel Vitelic Inc. is still mum about its plans to set up a 300-mm wafer fab in Canada, but sources said that the Canadian government is reportedly ready to fund the project after some reservations. Officials from the Canadian government have been spoted in Taiwan this week to reportedly hammer out an agreement that could give Mosel Vitelic the required subsidies to build the fab in the Quebec province, sources said. For months, Mosel Vitelic has been talking to the Canadian government about this project. But the government has balked at the company's requests for subsidies, due to cost factors, according to sources (see Sept. 6 story). The Canadian government is reportedly changing its tune, however. "[The Canadian government] is going to find a way to give the money to Mosel to build a fab in Canada," said analyst Danny Lam of Fisher-Holstein Inc. of Wilmington, Del. Officials from Mosel Vitelic decline to comment. In fact, the company claims it will choose between one of two sites for its 300-mm fab project: Canada or eastern Germany. Mosel Vitelic is in discussions with two different joint venture partners about these projects, but the company insists that it has not made a final decision. "The decision will be made in October," said Thomas Chang, vice president of technology transfer coordination for Mosel Vitelic, in an interview with SBN at the company's headquarters in Hsinchu. Most analysts and observers believes that the company faces some major risks if it should decide to set up a fab in Canada. Though Canada is transforming itself into a major networking and communications-chip powerhouse, the nation lacks the necessary infrastructure to support 300-mm fabs, analysts said. "All I can say [to Mosel Vitelic] is: 'good luck,' said analyst Lam, who tracks new wafer projects and expansions in the chip industry. Still, the company's proposed 300-mm fab--which will be geared for flash-memory projection--is critical for its growth. In fact, after getting battered by the memory downturn in the late-1990s, Mosel Vitelic is making a major comeback. Citing huge demand for its DRAMs and other products, the company's worldwide sales are projected to grow from $650 million in 1999 to $1.2 billion in 2000, according to Chang. It is also focusing its strategy around five key areas: DRAMs, liquid-crystal display (LCD) controllers, power-management ICs, flash memories, and foundry services. Mosel Vitelic makes high-speed DRAMs for graphics applications. It also has a joint DRAM manufacturing venture in Taiwan with Infineon Technologies AG of Munich. The joint venture is called ProMos Technologies Inc. Hsinchu-based ProMos mainly makes 64-Mbit DRAMs, but it is expanding into other areas. "We've shipped 256-Mbit products since March," Chang said. "Next year, we will ship 128-Mbit products." In the late-90s, meanwhile, the company transformed its 6-inch wafer fab in Hsinchu into a silicon foundry. Its main foundry customers are two large LCD controller suppliers--Toshiba Corp. and Sharp Corp., both of Japan. By year's end, Mosel Vitelic also hopes to break ground on a new 8-inch wafer fab in the southern City of Tainan, which expanding a new high-technology industrial park. Geared for the LCD controller products, this $1.3 billion fab is expected to move into production by the end of 2001. The company is expanding into this business for good reason. "All of the LCD makers are crying for these parts," Chang said, referring to worldwide shortages of these types of chips.