Mubadala’s GF breaks ground on $4bn Singapore campus
The new campus is expected to ramp up operations in 2023
Mubadala’s semiconductor firm, GlobalFoundries (GF), has broken ground on its new $4bn campus in Singapore. The project is being undertaken in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board, with co-investments from committed customers. The new facility is said to be the first step of GF’s plan to expand its global manufacturing footprint, to meet increasing worldwide customer demand.
On completion, the project will be the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility in Singapore and will enhance GF’s ability to provide its feature-rich RF, analog power, non-volatile memory solutions, the statement said.
According to GF, it is adding 250,000sqft of cleanroom space and new administrative offices. The new facility will create 1,000 new high-value jobs such as technicians, engineers and more. Construction is said to be underway and the new campus is planned to ramp up in 2023.
The virtual groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Singapore Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, S Iswaran, and Mubadala Investment Company’s MD and group CEO, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, along with other senior officials. They were joined by the UAE Ambassador to Singapore H.E. Jamal Abdulla Al Suwaidi; Singapore Ambassador to the UAE H.E. Kamal R Vaswani; Singapore Economic Development Board MD 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.
GF stated that 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 the construction of phase one of its 300mm fab expansion in Singapore. When complete, GF will add capacity for 450,000 wafers per year, bringing GF’s Singapore campus up to approximately 1.5 million wafers per year, the firm explained.
“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 U.S and Europe. 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,” said GF CEO Tom Caulfield.
Dr Beh Swan Gin, chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board added, “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. It will help GlobalFoundries’ customers to strengthen the resilience of their supply chains, and also add to the vibrancy of our economy through the creation of good jobs for Singaporeans and business opportunities for our local enterprises.”
