SMIC inks nearly $2B in capital equipment deals
By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- EDN, May 10, 2007
Shanghai, China-based semiconductor foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co. (SMIC) reported it participated Wednesday in a signing ceremony of contracts and agreements between U.S. and Chinese companies during the U.S- China Hi-Tech Cooperation Forum held in San Francisco.
The event was organized by the U.S. Information Technology Office (USITO) and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), and was meant to embody the progression of U.S. - China trade relations.
The program included a signing ceremony between various U.S. and Chinese companies from the high-tech industry and remarks given by representatives of the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Commerce, the City of San Francisco, the China Consulate of San Francisco, CCCME, USITO, and the State of California as well as the Hi-Tech Cooperation Forum.
The forum also included presentations by the participating signing companies from the U.S. and China - including SMIC.
During the event, SMIC signed six letters of intent totaling $1.86 billion over three-year periods to purchase semiconductor manufacturing equipment from leading U.S.-based suppliers, including Applied Materials, Axcelis, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Novellus and Varian Semiconductor.
Sam T. Wang, president of SMIC Americas, said in a statement, “As part of the world’s semiconductor community, SMIC is proud to serve as an ‘ambassador’ of economic relations between the U.S. and China for this ceremonial event.”
“We believe that the U.S. and China’s trade relation is critical to the development of the high-tech industry and to global trade as a whole. We are currently at a crucial point in the world-wide development of the semiconductor industry and we are happy to aid in this growth,” he added.
