Mubadala-owned GlobalFoundries (GF), the global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, on Tuesday announced it is expanding its global manufacturing footprint with the construction of a new fab on its Singapore campus. In partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board and with co-investments from committed customers, GF’s more than $4 billion (approximately Dhs15 billion) investment will play an integral role in meeting the growing demand for the company’s industry-leading manufacturing technologies and services to enable companies worldwide to develop and scale their business.

In a virtual groundbreaking ceremony, Singapore Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S. Iswaran, and Mubadala Investment Company Managing Director and Group CEO Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, were joined by: UAE Ambassador to Singapore Jamal Abdulla Al Suwaidi; Singapore Ambassador to the UAE Kamal R Vaswani; Singapore Economic Development Board Managing Director Chng Kai Fong; GF Board Chairman Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi; along with GF executives including CEO Tom Caulfield; CFO David Reeder; SVP and Head of Global Operations KC Ang; SVP of Global Sales Juan Cordovez; VP of Human Resource for APAC and International Fabs Janice Lee; and VP of Technology Development in Singapore Dr Soh Yun Siah.

The global demand for semiconductor chips is growing at an unprecedented rate, with worldwide semiconductor revenue projected to increase 2.1 times in the next eight years. To meet that demand, GF has planned capacity expansions at all its manufacturing sites in the US, Germany and, starting with the construction of phase one of its 300mm fab expansion, Singapore. When complete, GF will add capacity for 450,000 wafers per year, bringing GF’s Singapore campus up to approximately 1.5 million (300mm) wafers per year.

The new fab will be the most advanced semi manufacturing facility in Singapore and will further enhance GF’s ability to provide its feature-rich RF, analog power, non-volatile memory solutions. GF is adding 250,000 square feet (23,000 square meters) of cleanroom space and new administrative offices. The new fab will create 1,000 new high-value jobs such as technicians, engineers and more. With construction already underway, the Fab is planned to ramp in 2023.

“GF is meeting the challenge of the global semiconductor shortage by accelerating our investments around the world. Working in close collaboration with our customers and the Government of Singapore is a recipe for success that we are pioneering here and looking forward to replicating in the US and Europe,” said GF CEO Tom Caulfield. “Our new facility in Singapore will support fast-growing end-markets in the automotive, 5G mobility and secure device segments with long-term customer agreements already in place.” “We are committed to partnering industry leaders such as GlobalFoundries to address the global demand for semiconductors, especially in growth areas such as artificial intelligence and 5G. The semiconductor industry is a key pillar of Singapore’s manufacturing sector, and GlobalFoundries’ new fab investment is testament to Singapore’s attractiveness as a global node for advanced manufacturing and innovation.

WAM