STATS ChipPAC to invest another $500m in Singapore by 2016

Responding to rapid market demand.

In a release, STATS ChipPAC Ltd. (STATS ChipPAC) said that based on the increasing market demand for the advanced mobile device-related products it manufactures,STATS ChipPAC expects to accelerate its investments in Singapore by a further US$500m over the next three years.

The company said it has already invested approximately US$1.7 billion (S$2.1 billion) in Singapore to date to expand its technology offerings and manufacturing capacity. Singapore has become the Company's global hub for advanced wafer level technology research and development (R&D) and wafer level packaging centre of excellence for advanced mobile devices.

The announcement came as the SGX-listed company celebrated the grand opening of its new building in Singapore.

"Our mobile communications business worldwide has experienced strong, double-digit growth over the past three years and contributed US$1.0 billion (S$1.2 billion) to STATS ChipPAC's revenue in 2012. Mobile technology convergence is pushing the boundaries for smaller form factor, higher performance, increased functionality and lower cost semiconductors. In 2012, more than 60% of the 2.5 billion chips we manufactured in Singapore went into mobile handsets, smartphones and tablets," said Tan Lay Koon, President and Chief Executive Officer, STATS ChipPAC.

STATS ChipPAC's state-of-the-art facility, at 808,000 square feet, is the largest Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) operation in Singapore. STATS ChipPAC Singapore (SCS) has led the semiconductor industry in a number of breakthrough manufacturing and technology achievements over the last three years with a fan-out wafer level package known as embedded Wafer Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB). The recently expanded operation will support STATS ChipPAC's rapidly growing wafer level business for advanced mobile devices and will enable the Company to focus on the further development of its Post Wafer fab Process (PWfP) business.

Mr. Tan continued, "We were among the first companies in the world to ramp eWLB to high volume production and establish it as a proven fan-out wafer level package that provides significant performance, size and cost benefits compared to other packaging technology. STATS ChipPAC has also taken a leadership role in the semiconductor industry by becoming the first company to offer a complete set of PWfP solutions. Our specialised PWfP capabilities in Singapore will play a critical role in the development of advanced wafer level technology for next generation mobile devices."

PWfP is an emerging business area between the front-end wafer foundries which create silicon wafers and the OSAT providers that handle back-end packaging and test. PWfP includes advanced wafer level processes such as wafer thinning, microbumping and redistribution that are increasingly important factors in delivering innovative semiconductor packaging solutions.

With the development of PWfP and the rapid growth expected in wafer level technology, STATS ChipPAC plans to expand its Singapore workforce, including its Professional, Managerial, Executive and Technical (PMET) positions, by 12% in 2013 over its current workforce of approximately 2,500 employees in Singapore. Singapore residents represent 54% of the STATS ChipPAC Singapore workforce and 84% of its PMET positions. STATS ChipPAC has approximately 10,000 employees in eight countries worldwide.