US-based semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries (GF) on 12 September officially opened its $4bn expanded semiconductor fabrication plant in Singapore, which will further boost its global manufacturing presence and enhance its supply chain resiliency.
Work on the 23,000m² plant started in 2021. It has a production capacity of 450,000 300mm wafers/yr, raising GF's production capacity in Singapore to approximately 1.5mn 300mm wafers/yr.
"We are thrilled to ramp our operations at the Singapore expansion site," said GF's president and chief executive Thomas Caulfield. "This site is instrumental in ensuring that we have the capacity our customers need as they seek to strengthen their supply chains."
"Over the last century, steel and oil were the foundational materials for industrial success. In the 21st century, silicon wafers are the new steel and oil," said Singapore's deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong who attended the plant's opening.
"[This] fab 7h will be the first wafer fab in Singapore capable of manufacturing specialty chips at 28nm...We cannot play in all areas of semiconductors. We probably will not be able to play in a high-end space either. But in specialty chips, I think we have competitive advantages and strengths and we will continue to build on them," he added.
Around 80pc of all electronic manufacturing in Singapore in 2022 was semiconductor manufacturing, according to US International Trade Administration. Singapore in 2022 accounted for about 11pc of the global semiconductor market share and manufactures 20pc of global semiconductor equipment, according to the country's Economic Development Board. Singapore under its Manufacturing 2030 vision aims to cement its position as a global hub for advanced manufacturing and raise its manufacturing value-add by 50pc by 2030.
GF's revenues during April-June were down by 7pc from a year earlier to $1.845bn but generated $146mn of free cash flow despite impacts from cyclical headwinds and continued macroeconomic uncertainty, it said. The firm during the quarter entered into a partnership with US aerospace company Lockheed Martin to produce more microelectronics used in US defence systems.
