CSMC-Tech and Chartered Establish Strategic Relationship for China Foundry Market Development.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SINGAPORE & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2003 CSMC CSMC Confederate States Marine Corps (Civil War) CSMC Coral Springs Medical Center CSMC Combat Systems Maintenance Center CSMC Combat System Maintenance Central CSMC Cyber Security Management Center Technologies Corporation ("CSMC-Tech"), a leading 150 millimeter (mm) Chinese integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for (IC) foundry services company, today entered into an arrangement with one of the world's top three dedicated semiconductor foundries, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing SGX: C27 NASDAQ: CHRT (abbreviated CSM) is the world's fourth largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Woodlands Industrial Park, Kranji Singapore. (Nasdaq:CHRT CHRT Canadian Human Rights Tribunal CHRT Chert (lithological term) CHRT Consolidated Human Resource Technology )(SGX-ST:Chartered), on equipment purchase, technology licensing, operational assistance, and customer referral. In return, Chartered will receive cash payment and an equity stake in CSMC-Tech. The collaboration between Chartered and CSMC-Tech will result in extending the productive life and availability of proven 150mm technologies for serving the China market and customers globally with specific mature technology requirements. The arrangement was formalized for·mal·ize tr.v. for·mal·ized, for·mal·iz·ing, for·mal·iz·es 1. To give a definite form or shape to. 2. a. To make formal. b. during a signing ceremony A signing ceremony is a ceremony in which a bill passed by a legislature is signed (approved) by an executive, thus becoming a law. Modern-day signing ceremonies are derived from ceremonies that occurred when the British monarch gave Royal Assent to acts of Parliament. today in Singapore by Dr. Peter Chen (person) Peter Chen - The developer of the Entity-Relationship model. , chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CSMC-Tech; Mr. Chia Song Hwee, president and CEO of Chartered; and Mr. Zhu Jinkun, deputy chairman and CEO of China Resources China Resources (Chinese: 華潤; HKSE: 0291 ) is a group of companies in wide variety of business in Hong Kong and mainland China. Some of its companies use the name the acronym CRC. Logic Limited (CR Logic), the single largest shareholder of CSMC-Tech. Under the arrangement, CSMC-Tech and its subsidiaries (collectively the "CSMC-Tech Group") today signed the Master Agreement, the Equipment Purchase Agreement, the Technology Transfer and License Agreement, and the Operational Assistance Agreement (collectively the "Transaction Agreements"), and the Customer Referral Agreement with Chartered. Pursuant to the Transaction Agreements, Chartered agrees to sell equipment, transfer and license selected proven mature process technologies, and provide the required operational assistance to CSMC-Tech. The total consideration payable by CSMC-Tech shall be US$33 million, comprising cash payment and the allotment and issue of its ordinary shares, credited as fully paid, to Chartered. In accordance with the Customer Referral Agreement, Chartered, using commercially reasonable efforts, may introduce customers who require 150mm foundry services to CSMC-Tech. In consideration of the customer referral services provided by Chartered, CSMC-Tech agrees to pay a referral fee to Chartered. Any referral fee payable will be satisfied by the allotment and issue of CSMC-Tech's ordinary shares, up to a value of US$5 million, credited as fully paid. On 5 August 2003, Central Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (CSMC), China's original dedicated foundry, and CR Logic announced the formation of CSMC-Tech and invited a consortium of well-known international investors to invest in CSMC-Tech under an investment agreement. 3i, the global private equity investor, and Crown Crystal Investments Limited, a company representing the interests of one of the largest technology-focused venture capital management firms in Asia, led the US$67 million first investment round. Other investors in the consortium include International Finance Corporation (IFC (Internet Foundation Classes) A class library from Netscape that provides an application framework and graphical user interface (GUI) routines for Java programmers. IFC was later made part of the Java Foundation Classes (JFC). See JFC, AFC and AWT. See also ICF. ), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and a private equity fund managed by Templeton Asset Management Limited. The arrangement between Chartered and CSMC-Tech will be conditional upon the completion of CSMC-Tech's fundraising activities. Upon completion of the transactions contemplated under the investment agreement, CSMC-Tech's issued share capital will be owned 29.2 percent by CR Logic, 24.2 percent by CSMC and an aggregate of 46.6 percent by Chartered and other investors. The equity portion of the consideration relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the Transaction Agreements and Customer Referral agreement would bring Chartered's overall stake in the company to not more than 11.15 percent. Win-Win Strategic Collaboration Under the arrangement, Chartered will transfer 0.6-micron technologies, including analog, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Although EEPROMs spawned flash memory, EEPROMs are byte addressable at the write level, whereas flash chips must erase a block of bytes before rewriting. , high voltage The term high voltage characterizes electrical circuits, in which the voltage used is the cause of particular safety concerns and insulation requirements. High voltage is used in electrical power distribution, in cathode ray tubes, to generate X-rays and particle beams, to and BiCMOS; 0.5-micron analog technology; and 0.35-micron logic technology to CSMC-Tech. The licensed technologies and purchased equipment assets from Chartered's Fab 1 will be installed in CSMC-Tech's 150mm Fab 1 facility, located at Wuxi, China. The technology transfer is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2003, followed by equipment decommissioning Decommissioning is a general term for a formal process to remove something from operational status. Some specific instances include:
"The semiconductor industry in China is entering an exciting era of growth. The CSMC-Tech and Chartered relationship reflects the evolving dynamics of the foundry industry and the importance of the collaboration for lowering risks and delivering proven solutions amidst increasing complexities in IC design and escalating manufacturing costs," said CSMC-Tech's Dr. Chen. "CSMC-Tech is pleased to collaborate with Chartered, whose global semiconductor leadership and proven partnership model formed a strong foundation for this arrangement. Through a complementary business model, our two companies have structured a unique collaboration that will put CSMC-Tech in position to become the industry's manufacturer of choice for proven IC wafers. This relationship provides further endorsement of CSMC-Tech's business and strategy, and adds to the success of our recent international investment round." Chartered and CSMC-Tech are also discussing opportunities for future collaboration, focused on extending the productive life and availability of proven technologies for 200mm manufacturing. "Since 1997, Chartered has been serving customers in China and strengthening our presence there. Today's announcement with CSMC-Tech and CR Logic signifies another step toward gaining a better understanding of the rapidly growing semiconductor market in China. We believe this important collaboration between two dedicated foundries will provide China's many emerging design centers and fabless companies Fabless Company The Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) defines fabless as follows: Fabless (without fab) refers to the business methodology of outsourcing the manufacturing of silicon wafers, which hundreds of semiconductor companies have adopted. with proven technology for developing their products," said Mr. Chia Song Hwee, president and CEO of Chartered. "For Chartered, the collaboration also represents a significant milestone in executing our fab rationalization plan, progressing toward the objectives of consolidating all Singapore fab operations onto our main campus in Woodlands and working with a selected partner to establish an initial manufacturing presence in China." "We believe that the business model of CSMC-Tech is ideally suited for the PRC market and that CSMC-Tech should expand its capacity to ride on the growing demand for foundry services in the PRC. The equipment purchase and technology tie up with Chartered complement and satisfy the technology migration directions of both CSMC-Tech and Chartered," said Mr. Charley Song, Chairman of CR Logic. "The collaboration between CSMC-Tech and Chartered is expected to provide CSMC-Tech with the equipment and technology roadmap The context of product management The existence of product managers in the product software industry indicates that software is becoming more and more commercialized as a standard product. for future upgrading of CSMC-Tech's existing 0.45 micron-based process. More importantly, the strategic relationship will allow the parties to use CSMC-Tech as a platform to tap into the tremendous potential of the rapidly growing Chinese IC market." About CR Logic CR Logic is principally engaged in technology related manufacturing businesses with two distinctive business segments, namely semiconductor and air-conditioner compressor compressor, machine that decreases the volume of air or other gas by the application of pressure. Compressor types range from the simple hand pump and the piston-equipped compressor used to inflate tires to machines that use a rotating, bladed element to achieve . The Group's shares became listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) Only stock exchange located in Hong Kong. Limited in November 1994. The Group strives to become a leading technology-oriented manufacturing enterprise in the PRC. One of its core businesses is the semiconductor operation, which involves design, fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh n the construction or making of a restoration. , packaging, testing, foundry service and sale of consumer IC's. Its major products, derived from 4-inch to 6-inch semiconductor wafers, include discrete devices, bipolar ICs and MOS (1) (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) See MOSFET. (2) (Mean Opinion Score) The quality of a digitized voice line. It is a subjective measurement that is derived entirely by people listening to the calls and scoring the results from ICs, which are mainly used in consumer electronic products and telecommunication devices. The current annual capacity is about 1.3 million wafers. The Group is also one of the top four suppliers of air-conditioner compressors in the PRC, enjoying a 10 per cent market share. The Group has expanded its annual production capacity to 3,100,000 units in early 2003, taking advantage of the rapidly growing residential air-conditioner market in the PRC. About CSMC-Tech Founded in December 1997 by an experienced team of international semiconductor industry professionals, CSMC-Tech offers integrated circuit manufacturing, foundry management and operating services for China and the international markets. Pioneering the open foundry business model in the PRC, CSMC-Tech provides fab capacity for a growing number of design houses that need IC fabrication capacity and integrated device manufacturers See IDM. that outsource their production. Since its establishment, the number of CSMC-Tech's employees has tripled to over 700 now. CSMC-Tech's strong investor base includes the 3i Group, China Resources Logic, Crown Crystal Investments, International Finance Corporation, Templeton Funds, and Walden International. For more information, visit www.csmc.com.cn. About Chartered Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, one of the world's top three dedicated semiconductor foundries, is forging a customized approach to outsourced semiconductor manufacturing by building lasting and collaborative partnerships with its customers. The Company provides flexible and cost-effective manufacturing solutions for customers, enabling the convergence of communications, computing and consumer markets. In Singapore, Chartered operates five fabrication facilities and has a sixth fab, which will be developed as a 300mm facility. A company with both global presence and perspective, Chartered is traded on both the Nasdaq Stock Market Nasdaq stock market The first electronic stock market listing over 5000 companies. The Nasdaq stock market comprises two separate markets, namely the Nasdaq National Market, which trades large, active securities and the Nasdaq Smallcap Market that trades emerging growth companies. (Nasdaq:CHRT) and on the Singapore Exchange “SGX” redirects here. For other uses, see SGX (disambiguation). Singapore Exchange Limited SGX: S68 (SGX) is the stock exchange in Singapore. SGX was formed on December 1 1999, following the merger of two established and well-respected financial (SGX-ST:CHARTERED). Chartered's 3,500 employees are based at 11 locations around the world. Information about Chartered can be found at www.charteredsemi.com. Chartered Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. Statement under the provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 This news release contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. , as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including without limitation, statements relating to our collaboration with CSMC-Tech on 150mm technologies and possible further collaboration with CSMC-Tech on 200mm technologies; the appropriateness of our business strategy and objectives reflect our current views with respect to future events; and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are: the successful implementation of our collaboration with CSMC-Tech, changes in market outlook and trends and customer demands. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained. In addition to the foregoing factors, a description of certain other risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially can be found in the section captioned "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F and our First Quarter 2003 Quarterly Report on Form 6-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on the current view of management on future events. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. |
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