Jazz Semiconductor and ASMC Form Manufacturing Venture to Produce Advanced Mixed-Signal and RF Wafers in China Using Jazz Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. & SHANGHAI, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2003

The Agreement Will Enable the First Pure Play-Foundry Manufacturer

of Silicon Germanium BiCMOS Wafers in China

Jazz Semiconductor and Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. of Shanghai (ASMC) have formally established a silicon manufacturing venture in which Jazz will contribute mixed-signal and radio-frequency (RF) technologies, including bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) and Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS process technology, engineering assistance, and marketing and sales storefront services.

ASMC will provide capacity in its new 200mm wafer fabrication facility located in Shanghai. The strategic alliance provides Jazz customers with a second source of capacity for the processes currently manufactured in its Newport Beach fabrication facility. It also reinforces ASMC's position as the leading manufacturer of BiCMOS technology in China.

"ASMC's experience in manufacturing BiCMOS technology makes them an ideal partner to ensure a timely and efficient ramp of certain Jazz processes in the new facility," said Theodore Zhu, vice president of sales, strategy and business development for Jazz Semiconductor.

Zhu continued: "One of the primary markets for SiGe products is wireless handsets, which require integration of RF functions at low power consumption and at low cost. The agreement provides Jazz customers access to RF and mixed-signal process technologies in China where the wireless market is expected to grow significantly, and provides a second sourcing alternative."

"Jazz is a leader in advanced Si BiCMOS and SiGe BiCMOS manufacturing processes with technical expertise and resources to support its customers who develop competitive analog and RF integrated circuits," said Tony Liu, president of ASMC. "We are very pleased to form such a strategic alliance with Jazz."

According to a spokesman for The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) of China, China has become the largest mobile communications market in the world, with more than 200 million mobile phone subscribers and more than 100 million handsets sold in 2002 alone.

"It is our longstanding policy to promote the advancement of technology and to support the localization of manufacturing. We thus welcome the establishment of this Jazz/ASMC alliance. With this strategic alliance, China has the capability to provide advanced silicon germanium, RF, and analog foundry services to RF IC manufacturers both abroad and emerging in China."

The fabrication facility in China is expected to begin volume production in the fourth quarter of 2003, producing 30K 200mm wafers per month.

About ASMC

Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. of Shanghai (ASMC), previously Philips Semiconductor Corp. of Shanghai, is the leading analog and power wafer foundry in the world and the leading smart card wafer foundry company in China.

ASMC is an ISO9002, QS9000 and ISO14001 certified company. ASMC has one 5-inch bipolar fab with 40K/month wafer capacity and one 6-inch BiCMOS fab with 30K/month wafer capacity. ASMC 8-inch fab will come on line this year with 30K wafer/month capacity.

About Jazz Semiconductor

Jazz Semiconductor manufactures semiconductor wafers that enable the development of high-performance, low-power radio-frequency (RF) wireless and broadband wireline communications products. The company's rich heritage in analog and RF integrated circuits (IC) manufacturing has evolved into a leadership position in silicon germanium (SiGe) bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) and silicon BiCMOS technologies and design tools that are setting the standard for communications IC foundry services.

The company's wafers are manufactured using bipolar, BiCMOS, SiGe, analog, and mixed-signal CMOS process technologies. The Newport Beach ISO9001-certified facility includes 100,000 square feet of Class 1 clean-room space, and has the capacity to support 21,000 8-inch wafer starts per month.

Jazz Semiconductor is a privately held company with headquarters in Newport Beach, and has approximately 670 employees. To learn more, visit the company at www.jazzsemi.com.