Photo credit: GlobalFoundries
GlobalFoundries (GF), a US-based semiconductor manufacturer, has opened its US$4 billion expansion fabrication plant in Singapore as the company looks to expand its supply chain.
The plant will produce an additional 450,000 semiconductor wafers annually, raising GF Singapore’s overall capacity to nearly 1.5 million wafers each year.
The 23,000-square-meter facility is expected to generate 1,000 jobs in Singapore, primarily focused on equipment technicians, process technicians, and engineers.
Singapore currently holds 11% of the global semiconductor market, and this expansion aligns with the city-state’s ambition to become a global hub for advanced manufacturing under the Manufacturing 2030 vision.
GF makes semiconductors designed by companies including Qualcomm, MediaTek, and NXP Semiconductors. It is the world’s third-largest foundry by revenue after TSMC and Samsung.
GF’s chips can be found inside gadgets like smartphones, laptops, automobiles, video game consoles, and smart speakers.
See also: The US-China tech rift’s surprising beneficiary: Southeast Asia
The opening of the new plant comes as GF expects a “growth in demand” for essential semiconductor chips.
Semiconductors are also at the center of the tech war between the US and China, with both countries fighting for supremacy in the AI space.
On July 3 this year, China started imposing restrictions on the exports of germanium and gallium, two metals used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and electronics.
Similarly, last year, the US banned its people and businesses from working for Chinese firms involved in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips unless they obtained a specific export license.
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Dhania Putri Sarahtika
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