UMC invests in Fujitsu’s new foundry venture
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Taiwan based foundry UMC is to become a minority shareholder in a newly formed subsidiary of Fujitsu Semiconductor that will operate the latter's 300mm wafer manufacturing facility in Kuwana. Under the terms of the agreement, UMC will invest ¥5billion ($48million) for a 9.3% stake in the yet to be named subsidiary, as well as licensing its 40nm low power process to Fujitsu.
The subsidiary will provide foundry services to a range of customers, based on Fujitsu's low power process and embedded memory technology, UMC's foundry expertise and its advanced process technology.
According to Po Wen Yen, UMC's CEO: "We are continuously exploring ways to expand our operations to increase our customers' competitiveness while also delivering maximum value to our stakeholders. Partnering with a leading Japanese semiconductor company like Fujitsu for a local joint venture will not only offset the time, risk and cost of building a new fab, but also provide access to another 300mm manufacturing source in addition to UMC's own 300mm operations in Taiwan and Singapore."
Haruki Okada, President of Fujitsu Semiconductor, said: "Fujitsu has been in search of a partner with whom to jointly operate a new foundry company based on its Mie 300mm wafer fab. I am expecting that the joint venture will be not only one of the best foundry companies in the world, but also a bridge between Taiwan and Japan."
