Globalfoundries breaks ground on new S$5b fab in Singapore

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) is ramping up its global footprint starting with a S$5 billion (US$4 billion) investment which is slated to be the most advanced semi-manufacturing facility in Singapore.

This is part of a wider effort to meet some of the staggering demand worldwide for semiconductor chips.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield noted that the industry is trying to do in eight years what it previously took them 50 years to do.

"The world economy not only needs our industry to catch up to current demand, but it needs our industry to double its capacity over the next eight years. It took 50 years for the semiconductor industry to become a half a trillion dollar industry and it will need to do the same in the next eight years."

The global chip shortage, triggered by the pandemic, has squeezed, among other industries, global automakers and consumer electronics manufacturers.

The S$5 billion investment, established in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board and with co-investment from committed customers, will add 250,000 square feet of clean-room space and new administrative offices to GF's campus at Woodlands Wafer Fab Park.

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In addition, the fully-automated fab will create 1,000 new high-value jobs such as technicians, engineers and more. It is expected to be operational by January 2023 and ramped up to full capacity by 2024. When fully completed, it will add capacity for 450,000 wafers per year, bringing GF's Singapore campus up to about 1.5 million (300mm) wafers per year.

Starting with phase one of its 300mm fab expansion in Singapore, GF will conduct planned capacity expansion at all its manufacturing sites in the US and Germany. The total investment will come in at about US$6 billion (with US$1 billion each going to the US and Germany). This capital expenditure is expected to take place over 2022 and 2023 and is in addition to the previously-announced US$1.4 billion capacity expansion across all its sites.

"Working in close collaboration with our customers and the government of Singapore is a recipe for success that we are pioneering here and looking forward to replicating in the US and Europe," said Dr Caulfield."Our new facility in Singapore will support fast-growing end-markets in the automotive, 5G mobility and secure device segments with long-term customer agreements already in place."

The virtual groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran as well as Mubadala Investment Company managing director and Group CEO Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, among others. Mubadala, a United Arab Emirates state investment company, owns GlobalFoundries.

Mr Iswaran noted that the new wafer fab is the kind of investment that Singapore aims to attract and anchor.

"This investment will also bring us closer to achieving our ambition for the manufacturing sector," he said.

In January, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced the goal to grow the sector, of which the semiconductor industry features strongly, by 50 per cent by 2030.

Since its acquisition of Chartered Semiconductors in 2010, GF has committed S$12 billion in fixed asset investments in Singapore. It is the largest foundry in Singapore, with five wafer fabs and close to 4,800 employees.