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Chinese chip maker SMIC boosts expansion with US$7.5 billion investment in new Tianjin plant amid concerns of US sanctions
- SMIC’s new fab in Tianjin will have a production capacity of 100,000 12-inch wafers a month, covering 28-nanometre and older chip process nodes
- Products made by this new manufacturing line will be for telecommunications, cars, consumer electronics and other applications
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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), the largest and most advanced chip foundry operator in mainland China, is investing US$7.5 billion to develop a new 12-inch wafer production line in the northern city of Tianjin, part of its capacity expansion programme that has gained urgency amid concerns of fresh US trade sanctions.
The new plant will be built inside the XEDA Sci-Tech Park, located south of downtown Tianjin in the Xiqing Development Area, and have a production capacity of 100,000 12-inch wafers a month, covering 28-nanometre and more mature semiconductor manufacturing process nodes, according to SMIC’s announcement in Hong Kong and Shanghai on Friday. It did not provide a timeline for this project.
Products made by this new manufacturing line will be for telecommunications, cars, consumer electronics and other applications, the company said.
The announcement was made after SMIC entered into a cooperation framework agreement with the state-owned Tianjin Xiqing Economic Development Group, which is responsible for planning and construction inside the Xiqing Development Area, and the Tianjin Xiqing Economic and Technology Development Area Management Committee. The two local government authorities committed to provide support in terms of land use, talent, infrastructure and other requirements.
SMIC’s new Tianjin project comes months after the contract chip maker earmarked a record US$5 billion for capital expenditure this year, up from US$4.5 billion in 2021, with the goal of boosting its monthly production capacity by 130,000 to 150,000 8-inch equivalent wafers.
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