SPEECH BY MR LEE HSIEN LOONG,PRIME MINISTER, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF SILTRONIC SAMSUNG WAFER 300MM WAFER FABRICATION PLANT, 19 JUNE 2008, 3.15 PM AT TAMPINES WAFER PARK

Dr Peter-Alexander Wacker, President & CEO, Wacker Chemie AG,


Dr Kwon Oh-Hyun, President, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics,


Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,


Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

 

INTRODUCTION


1. I am very happy to join you for the opening of this Siltronic-Samsung 300mm wafer facility.  Both Siltronic and Samsung are old friends and partners of Singapore.  Siltronic started manufacturing wafers here in 1997, and the plant, located just next door, has since expanded to become its largest 200mm wafer facility worldwide.  Samsung set up its regional headquarters in 1995, and it is now expanding its presence with this wafer facility, its largest investment to date in Singapore.  This is the first partnership between Siltronic and Samsung, and Singapore is honoured to be the location of choice for your joint venture.

 


TRANSFORMATION OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY

 

2. The semiconductor industry has come a long way since the first transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories more than 60 years ago.  The industry worldwide is in a state of flux as it shifts to a more mature and steady phase of development.  Fierce competition is driving down chip prices and tightening margins, and making semiconductor chips a commodity.  Manufacturers have to continually look for new ways to produce more powerful chips at the lowest possible costs.


3. Despite these near-term challenges, the long-term prospect for the semiconductor industry remains bright.  The convergence of electronics, communications and entertainment is stimulating growth in new products, and generating a plethora of new uses for silicon chips and semi¬conductors.  Over the past few decades, industry growth was boosted by robust demand from personal computers, which required increasingly smaller and more powerful semiconductors to keep up with the ever improving performance of desktops and notebooks.  Now, consumer electronic products – wireless handsets, MP3 players, digital cameras, televisions – are fuelling the industry.  Demand is also growing in new sectors such as healthcare, robotics and even clean energy, where power management chips are used to boost the output and efficiency of solar panels.


4. While extending into new market segments, the semiconductor industry is simultaneously shifting its geographic centre.  For decades, the US has been the centre of the semiconductor industry, because of its innovative capabilities and human capital.  America remains an important source of investments and new technologies, but companies are now shifting their R&D and manufacturing capacity to China and other Asian countries to take advantage of the abundant supply of low-cost workers and skilled engineers.  Asia is also a rapidly growing market with vast potential.  As purchasing power continues to rise in the vibrant Asian countries, so will demand for final products and the sophisticated components embedded in them.

 


SINGAPORE’S VALUE PROPOSITION


5. Singapore has positioned itself to take full advantage of these industry trends.  We intend to remain a major manufacturing location in Asia for electronics and semiconductors.  As a small city state, we cannot always offer the lowest absolute costs, or provide land to semiconductor firms as cheaply as other locations in the world.   But we will do our best to deliver cost-effective solutions with a compelling value proposition. 


6. First, we will continue to help semiconductor companies grow their operations and reap economies of scale.  They will be part of a vibrant ecosystem comprising wafer fabrication, IC design, and advanced assembly and testing, with support from a strong base of materials, chemicals, and equipment suppliers.  Siltronic-Samsung’s plant is a key addition to this ecosystem.  As Singapore’s first 300mm wafer substrate and ingot pulling facility, it will extend our semiconductor value chain, and bring us to the next level of wafer technology. 

7. Second, we are growing our R&D capabilities to help our companies stay at the cutting-edge of new technologies.  We are replicating the successful model of Biopolis by developing Fusionopolis as a new research hub for engineering and the physical sciences.  Fusionopolis will house Singapore’s largest R&D clean-room facility, and laboratories covering the entire spectrum of science and engineering research, from nanotechnology to manufacturing technology.  It will be a place for companies and research institutes to come together, share top-end facilities, and foster innovation and collaboration across disciplines.  Semiconductor companies can plug into this integrated R&D environment to work on collaborative research programmes, create new ideas and develop next-generation products and processes.

8. Third, we will continue to offer an open and supportive environment for businesses to implement ventures and projects speedily and efficiently.  In the rapidly changing and competitive electronics industry, companies have to mobilise resources quickly to seize the narrow and fleeting windows of opportunities.  More and more companies are thus relying on alliances and partnerships to leverage economies of scale and enhance their competitive positioning.  Singapore can play a key role for such cross-border and cross-cultural partnerships.  We are an Asian society, with Asian heritage and roots, and yet are cosmopolitan and work according to international norms.  Companies find it relatively easy to adapt to our social and cultural milieu, and to operate in a business environment similar to that in any developed country.

 

9. Within the semiconductor industry, we have enjoyed a good track record of fostering alliances and partnerships.  One of the first partnerships in the industry is TECH Semiconductor, a joint venture between Micron, Canon and Hewlett Packard.  Since its establishment in 1991, TECH has done well in Singapore and has recently converted its 200mm wafer fabrication plants into a fully integrated 300mm plant.  This Siltronic-Samsung venture continues this tradition of mutually-beneficial business relationships amongst our foreign partners.  We welcome more of such alliances and will continue to strive to provide the best conditions and necessary support for their success.

 


CONCLUSION


10. I congratulate the management and staff of Siltronic and Samsung who have worked hard together to bring this joint venture about, and to implement this project so expeditiously.  As both Siltronic and Samsung explore new avenues for collaboration with each another and with other partners, I hope that Singapore will continue to feature in your future plans.  On our part, the Government remains committed to work with semiconductor companies operating here, to understand their needs, reduce the obstacles they face, and help them succeed in this exciting but challenging environment.