1st Silicon Secures US$614 Million in Equity, Credit; Funds Secure Manufacturing Equipment Purchases and Ramp to Capacity.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers KUCHING, Sarawak, Malaysia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2002 1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. announced today that the company has received a new round of financing, totaling US$614 million in equity and credit. The funds give 1st Silicon the necessary capital to purchase the manufacturing equipment vital for bringing the company's manufacturing facility to capacity levels. "In serving both fabless companies and integrated device manufacturers See IDM. , a consistent, reliable source of capacity is key to the success of any foundry," stated Dr. John Nelson, Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of 1st Silicon. "The additional equity gives 1st Silicon the capability to meet and exceed customer requirements through providing support infrastructure and continuous technology development efforts, essential to serve its global customer portfolio." Of the $614 million raised, US$290 million is additional equity raised since January 2002 thus increasing the company's paid-up share capital from US$322 million to US$613 million. The other portion of the company's funding is represented by two credit facilities credit facilities npl → facilidades fpl de crédito credit facilities npl → facilités fpl de paiement credit facilities amounting to US$324 million, which will also be used for the purchase of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The credit facilities consist of US$120 million sourced from Japan Bank of International Corporation (JBIC JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation JBIC Japan Biological Informatics Consortium ) and related commercial banks, and US$204 million from United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Export Import Bank and related funding institutions. Both new credit facilities are guaranteed by the Malaysian Government. The company still has a balance of US$36.5 million available for equipment purchases from an earlier United States Export Import Bank guaranteed facility. "Continued expansion is essential to meeting the manufacturing capacity and capabilities that our customers expect from their fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. facility," remarked Datuk Ramly Ahmad, 1st Silicon Chief Financial Controller. "The total equity and funding for this continued growth is also an eloquent statement about Malaysia's Federal and State Governments' support for the semiconductor industry, and 1st Silicon specifically." About 1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. 1st Silicon is a dedicated semiconductor foundry founded in 1998 by the Malaysian State of Sarawak. 1st Silicon's 200mm wafer fab has a capacity in excess of 30,000 wafers per month when fully ramped. The Company has started volume production with 0.25um digital and mixed signal CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. technology in Q1 2001, and has introduced its 0.18um process. 1st Silicon's customers include Integrated Device Manufacturers and Fabless Semiconductor companies A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices implemented on semiconductor chips. It achieves an advantage by outsourcing the fabrication of the devices to a specialized semiconductor manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry or "fab. from the US, Japan, and Asia. The Company has its headquarters in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, and a US registered Subsidiary Corporation located in San Jose, California San Jose (IPA: /ˌsænhoʊˈzeɪ/) is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County. . Please visit 1st Silicon's homepage at www.1stsilicon.com for more information. NOTE: "1st Silicon" and the 1st Silicon logo are trademarks belonging to 1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. |
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