Feb. 27, 2023 /SemiMedia/ -- According to the Nikkei Asia, chip manufacturers and semiconductor production equipment suppliers are increasing the output in Singapore to meet the growth of medium- and long -term demand for semiconductors and decentralized supply chain risks.

Nikkei Asia pointed out that Soitec will invest about $430 million to double the production capacity of Singapore's wafer fab, and the US semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials has begun to build a factory worth about $ 450 million in Singapore.

SOITEC is expanding its fab in Singapore, the only production base outside France. The project is planned to be completed in 2024 and will increase the construction area of 45,000 square meters to the fab. The expansion will make the fab's 300mm SOI wafer capable of turning over 2 million pieces per year.

Soitec's CEO Pierre Barnabe is optimistic about the company's prospects. He said that the current slowdown in semiconductor has not affected the main markets of Soitec's focus on energy -saving wafers, such as mobile communications, automobiles and industrial applications, and connection devices.

The Asian center of Applied Materials is in Singapore. The company started a factory in the Tanni District, East Singapore in December and was planned to be completed in 2024. The project is also its largest production base outside the United States.

In addition to Soitec and Applied Materials, Global Foundries has built a $4 billion factory in Singapore; UMC also plans to invest in P3 fab in Singapore; VIS also revealed that Singapore is one of the candidates for its overseas factories.