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To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (39465)	11/10/2000 4:09:54 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Taiwan's Pacific Electric scraps silicon foundry plans Semiconductor Business News (11/10/00, 01:03:14 PM EDT) TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Co. Ltd. in Taiwan has quietly ended its efforts to enter the silicon foundry business after the semiconductor venture failed to raise capital and consummate a technology deal with IBM Corp. Pacific Electric's ill-fated foundry venture, called Pacific Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC), was formed in 1998 by the Taipei-based company and other investors pursue the foundry business. In late 1998, PSMC, which had hoped to build a fab, licensed some 0.25- to 0.15-micron process technology from IBM Microelectronics (see Dec. 11, 1998, story). But PSMC really never got off the ground. In a phone interview with SBN this week, a spokesman for Pacific Electric said the company's efforts to enter the silicon foundry business were sidetracked after the licensing deal with IBM Microelectronics had lapsed last year. "The project is gone," said the spokesman for Pacific Electric. "Both [Pacific Electric and IBM Microelectronics] did not put any money in the project." But even after the technology deal with IBM Microelectronics had lapsed--which was unbeknownst to industry journalists--Pacific Electric was still talking about building a fab, according to local press coverage in Taiwan and elsewhere. According to reports in Electric Buyers' News in July 1999, PSMC announced plans to break ground on its initial fab in the third quarter that year, with a schedule to move into production in 2000 or 2001. The 8-inch wafer fab was supposed to be located in Taoyuan, near Taipei. Pacific Electric had kept a low-profile about PSMC since last year, but the company had not announced plans to scrap the venture until now. PSMC still exists in the form of a "shell company," which is now looking to invest in biotechnology and other high-technology interests, the spokesman said. Analysts were not surprised by the fate of PSMC. Faced with a lack of chip expertise, capital, and otherwise credibility, the venture had little or no chance of getting off the ground, analysts said. At the same time, it was unclear why Pacific Electric wanted to enter the foundry business. The Taipei-based company is already a major shareholder in one chip maker, Mosel Vitelic Inc., a Hsinchu-based supplier of DRAMs and other chip products. Mosel Vitelic is also pursing the foundry business to a small degree as well. Some speculated that Pacific Electric was making a bid in the foundry business in order to boost its stock price in the local market. --Mark LaPedus reporting from Silicon Valley in the U.S.