The last time GlobalFoundries hit the headlines was in 2009 when its owners — Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi, UAE — paid $2.5 billion to buy over Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, 62%-held by Temasek Holdings. At that time, Chartered was the third-largest foundry in the world after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).
GlobalFoundries’ US$4 billion ($5.4 billion) planned expansion of its Singapore semiconductor chipmaking facilities marks its first here in over a decade. When ready in 1Q2023, the facility, based in Woodlands Wafer Fab Park and spanning 250,000 sq ft, can churn out 450,000 wafers a year.
According to GlobalFoundries, which makes semiconductor chips designed by customers themselves, the facility, to be the most advanced of its kind in Singapore, will be used to support fast-growing end markets in the automotive, 5G mobility and secure device segments, having signed long-term agreements with customers.
