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Technology Stocks : Cymer (CYMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (16505)	4/14/1998 8:56:00 AM
From: john douglas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

Heads up! Maria on CNBC just said Morgan Stanley likes Cymer which will do well regardless of how overall semiconductor group performs. Also positive mention for Dupont Photomasks. Theme is clearly smaller geometries.

To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (16505)	4/14/1998 9:29:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 25960

DPMI announces its new facility in Singapore for manufactring of DUV and i-line masks -- steppers need masks, and vice-versa.... DuPont Photomasks to Construct Advanced Production Facility in Singapore ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 1998--DuPont Photomasks, Inc. (NASDAQ:DPMI), more commonly referred to as DPI, has selected a site in Singapore for a new photomask production facility. The site will service the growing number of semiconductor manufacturers in Singapore, and the rest of Southeast Asia. Current plans are to invest $50 million over the next five years. When completed, the facility will be the 13th in DPI's global network of production facilities and its fourth in the Asia/Pacific region. "Singapore is on track to become an important global semiconductor manufacturing center for local companies, as well as companies from the U.S., Europe and Japan, including several of our key customers," said J. Michael Hardinger, chairman and chief executive officer of DuPont Photomasks. "The combination of existing fabs and fabs that are under development, and Singapore's central location in a region with a growing semiconductor manufacturing base were all factors contributing to our decision to build the new facility." DPI's plans to equip the new facility with the most advanced production equipment currently available and expects it to be operational in 1999. The facility will produce advanced photomasks for use with i-line and Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography steppers, enabling production of semiconductor devices with sub-0.35 micron feature sizes. "We are happy that DuPont Photomasks, the world's largest photomask manufacturer, has chosen Singapore to set up a world class photomask manufacturing operation to support the growing semiconductor industry in Southeast Asia. Singapore is on target to build up a vibrant wafer fab industry cluster. The most recent announcement was a US $1 billion joint-venture wafer fab plant in Singapore between Lucent Microelectronics and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing -- our 10th wafer fab plant," said Philip Yeo, chairman of Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB). "Singapore will continue to attract world class semiconductor manufacturing and we will also build up a strong base of related key supporting parts, materials and services companies, such as leading edge suppliers like DuPont Photomasks." Yeo added, "DPI's new project is a strong vote of confidence in Singapore and it is an important addition to our semiconductor industry infrastructure." Photomasks are high purity quartz plates that are individually manufactured to capture precision images of integrated circuits contained in a specific semiconductor device design. During the semiconductor manufacturing process, the photomasks are used in lithography steppers to pattern the circuit images onto a semiconductor wafer. A single semiconductor device may require a set of as many as 25 different photomasks to manufacture. "Our new facility in Singapore will be designed to meet the rapidly increasing demand for photomasks that are used to produce devices with deep sub-micron feature sizes," continued Hardinger. "It will join our state-of-the-art production plant in Ichon, Korea, the joint venture manufacturing facility we have established in Shanghai, China, and the recently announced joint venture manufacturing facility in Taiwan to become DPI's fourth Asia-Pacific location." DuPont Photomasks, Inc. (DPI) DPI is the world's largest photomask manufacturer, operating globally from ten strategically located facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. The company produces and supplies photomasks as well as photoblanks (photomask substrates) and pellicles (protective covers for photomasks). Photomasks are critical components in the semiconductor manufacturing process because they are used to pattern precision microscopic images of integrated circuits onto silicon wafers. As semiconductor feature sizes have become progressively smaller, the task of manufacturing photomasks that will faithfully pattern the circuit design onto silicon has become increasingly challenging. DPI is the world's largest producer of photomasks that enable the production of semiconductor devices with design rules at or below 0.35 micron. DPI is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, and had worldwide sales in fiscal 1997 of over $260 million. DPI maintains a Web site at photomask.com. -0- Note: This release includes forward-looking statements based on management's current plans and expectations. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause future activities and results of operations to differ from those suggested, including risks associated with industry trends, international currency fluctuations and the need to manage growth. For additional information, please refer to DPI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the company's most recent Forms 10-K dated September 15, 1997 and 10-Q dated February 3, 1998, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward looking statements. Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the year. --30--bh/ny* jc CONTACT: Dianne Schedler DPI Investor Relations 512/310-6559 or Shellie M. Roth Investor Relations Partners 973/535-8389 or John Satterfield or Paula Holland Edelman Worldwide 650/968-4033