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SINGAPORE: Singapore will do its best to deliver cost-effective solutions for semiconductor companies to do business here.
This was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's message at the opening ceremony of Siltronic-Samsung wafer fabrication plant at the Tampines Wafer Park.
Singapore will continue to help semiconductor companies grow their operations and reap economies of scale.
This will be done by ensuring that the companies are part of a vibrant ecosystem which comprises wafer fabrication, advanced assembly and testing, support from a strong base of materials, chemicals, and equipment suppliers.
Mr Lee said the Siltronic-Samsung plant is a key addition to this ecosystem. As Singapore's first 300mm wafer substrate and ingot pulling facility, it will extend Singapore's semiconductor value chain and bring the country to the next level of wafer technology.
Singapore is also growing its R&D capabilities to help companies stay at the cutting-edge of new technologies. So it will replicate 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.
Mr Lee said 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.
The Prime Minister added that Singapore will also continue to offer an open and supportive environment for businesses.
He said that 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 - especially as it is Asian yet cosmopolitan, companies will find it relatively easier to operate in a business environment similar to that in any developed country.
Mr Lee said Singapore has enjoyed a good track record of fostering alliances and partnerships within the semiconductor industry.
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 facility.
Mr Lee said the Siltronic-Samsung venture continues the tradition of mutually-beneficial business relationships amongst the foreign partners in Singapore.
Singapore welcomes more of such alliances and will continue to strive to provide the best conditions and necessary support for their success.
Mr Lee said Singapore intends to remain a major manufacturing location in Asia for electronics and semiconductors, even though it cannot always offer the lowest absolute costs. - CNA/ir
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