Silterra Malaysia, a leading pure play wafer foundry in Malaysia reviewed its new growth plan following the recent announcement of its 90nm and 65nm technology development plan with IMEC. The expansion plan is staged in three phases to accelerate the Company to a high rate of growth for the next few years. In phase 1, Silterra will install new capacity in its current facility for 0.18mm, 0.13mm and 0.11mm technologies up to 40,000 wafers per month. A small capacity of approximately 1,000 to 2,000 wafers per month of 90nm will also be installed for its small volume production. The current technologies are capable of mixed analog/digital, High Voltage, RFCMOS and low power designs.
While fitting out its current floor space to its maximum capacity, Silterra is actively looking at the acquisition of an additional 8-inch wafer fab to fuel its growth as its phase 2 plan. In phase 3, the Company is making a plan to build a 12-inch wafer fab for 90nm and 65nm technologies with an initial capacity of 20,000 to 25,000 wafers per month.
This growth plan is expected to require funding of $1.5 to $2.0 billion and Silterra is looking at raising the fund from both existing investors and also outside parties. Khazanah, the investment holding company of the Malaysia Government, is currently the largest share holder with over 90% stake.
“Silterra has a world class technology development team and we have developed very competitive technologies in the areas of mixed analog/digital, High Voltage and RF. We need to have additional capacity to support the increasing demand of customers for our technologies,” said Kah Yee Eg, CEO of Silterra. “The expansion plan will give us better economy of scale and also a technology road map that will allow us to grow with our customers for the next few years. This expansion plan will allow Silterra to double its revenue every two years over the next four to five years.” he added.
At the end of this expansion plan, Silterra will have a total capacity of 100,000 to 120,000 8-inch equivalent wafers per month for technologies ranging from 0.18mm down to 65nm, making Silterra a significant player in the pure play wafer foundry business.
