According to the Nikkei Asian Review on February 26, Western major chip makers and related suppliers are increasing their production in Singapore in order to meet long-term demand growth and diversify supply chain risks.
The report said that French substrate manufacturer Soitec will invest 400 million euros (430 million US dollars) to double its wafer plant in Singapore, while US semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials has begun building a SGD 600 million (450 million US dollars) factory in Singapore.
Global Foundries, an American contract chip maker, has built a US$4 billion factory in Singapore. In addition, Taiwanese manufacturers are also choosing Singapore as the preferred overseas plant. At the end of last year, the board of directors of UMC passed the capital budget execution case, with a total investment of NT$32.417 billion, part of which will be used to invest in Singapore P3 plant. World Advanced is still mainly 8-inch wafer foundry. World Advanced chairman Fang Lue revealed that in order to meet the requirements of customer risk diversification, World Advanced is also evaluating overseas factories, and Singapore is one of the candidate locations.
Singapore’s logistics system is efficient, which enables it to integrate well with customers in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The semiconductor industry accounts for 7% of Singapore’s GDP. Countries around the world are vying to attract chip-related companies. The Singapore government is also striving to attract investment through tax exemptions, land and support for research and development.