Chartered Expands Presence in China With Shanghai Office.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2002

Leading Foundry Broadens Reach within Fastest Growing Semiconductor

Market, Strengthens Customer Service Offering and Support

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (Nasdaq:CHRT) and (SGX-ST:Chartered), one of the world's top three silicon foundries, today announced the opening of a regional office in Shanghai, further strengthening Chartered's presence and establishing a customer service organization in China. The Shanghai office supports dedicated customer service, engineering and marketing functions, and also serves as a strategic gateway to other regions within China.

"The opening of Chartered's office in Shanghai is an important milestone for this region, and a key component of our strategy for broadening Chartered's global reach," said Bo Cheng, vice president of Asia-Pacific for Chartered. "Our strategy in China goes beyond technology and capacity. We are collaborating with fabless semiconductor companies and system OEMs to shape business models that allow them to take advantage of changing market conditions and emerging opportunities. Closer proximity will help us build even deeper, stronger relationships, and brings the benefits of local customer service and customized manufacturing solutions to more companies in China."

Tony-Wei Chen has been appointed Chief Representative for Chartered's Shanghai Representative Office. Chen joined Chartered in 1994 and has 14 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. Prior to this appointment, Chen was deputy director of field engineering and deputy director of marketing for the Asia Pacific and Japan regions. Based in Chartered's Singapore headquarters, Chen was responsible for planning and driving the execution of Chartered's marketing strategies as well as leading the field engineering organization in these regions. He previously held technology development positions with Northern Ireland Semiconductor Centre in Belfast, United Kingdom, and lectured on thermal dynamics and molecular physics at the Shantou University, China.

Long-Term Strategy

Chartered has been engaging with customers in China since 1997. The opening of the Shanghai office is the latest step in Chartered's long-term strategy for China.

Chartered's current offering of total product solutions provides customers access to the key building blocks required to develop advanced semiconductor and system-on-chip products. This includes access to leading-edge and mainstream manufacturing technologies, as well as advanced design kits consisting of market-leading memory compilers, standard cell and I/O libraries, third party intellectual property components, and mixed-signal process design kits (PDKs). Chartered has expanded this offering by providing free access to Avant! Libra-Visa memory compilers, standard cell and I/O libraries (recently acquired by Synopsys). The 0.35-micron node was specifically targeted, along with Cadence's mixed-signal PDKs for 0.35 micron, to address the needs of China's mainstream markets.

About Chartered

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, one of the world's top three silicon 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 applications. In Singapore, Chartered operates five fabrication facilities and has a sixth fab in the process of being developed as a 300mm facility.

A company with both global presence and perspective, Chartered is traded on both the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq:CHRT) and on the Singapore Exchange (SGX-ST:CHARTERED). Chartered's 4,000 employees are based at 12 locations around the world. Information about Chartered can be found at www.charteredsemi.com.

Chartered Safe Harbor Statement under the provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This news release contains forward-looking statements, 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 global and China business models and strategies reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance, 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: changes in market outlook and trends, specifically in the foundry services and communications segments; economic conditions in China, the United States as well as globally; customer demands; and continued success in our business strategies and technological advances. 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 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.