Infineon Expands Foundry Agreement with Winbond
Munich/Germany and Hsinchu/Taiwan, August 6, 2004 Infineon Technologies AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX) and Winbond Electronics Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan, today announced that they have signed an agreement to expand their existing cooperation on the production of standard memory chips (DRAMs). Under the terms of the additional agreement, Infineon will transfer its 0.09-µm DRAM trench technology and 300mm production know-how to Winbond. In return, Winbond will manufacture DRAMs for computing applications in this technology exclusively for Infineon. The transfer of these technologies from Infineon will enable Winbond to develop and sell respective proprietary specialty memories for which Infineon will receive license fees and royalties. Furthermore, Infineon and Winbond intend to jointly develop Specialty Memories which are targeted for mobile applications.
This new move will enable Infineon to considerably increase its capacity from Winbond through Winbonds 200mm and 300mm production plants. In May 2002, the two companies signed an agreement whereby Winbond would manufacture DRAMs for computting applications in its 200mm plant in Hsinchu using Infineons 0.11-µm DRAM trench technology exclusively for Infineon. First products from the new 300mm plant, which will be built in Taichung, Taiwan, are expected for end of 2005.
Specialty memories support particularly demanding applications including Graphics RAM (128, 256Mbit) and mobile applications such as PDAs, mobile phones and SMART phones.
The extension of our cooperation with Winbond underlines our partner commitment in Asia and it further supports the growth of our DRAM business and product portfolio, said Thomas Seifert, CEO of Memory Products Business Group at Infineon Technologies AG. At the same time we are further strengthening our regional presence and aiming overall at a leading market position in Asia/Pacific.
Our previous successful collaboration with Infineon in the 0.11-micron process technology transfer has paved the way for broadening of the partnership, said C.C. Chang, President of Winbond Electronics Corp. This further solidifies the foundation for future technology transfer cooperations between the two companies.
This collaboration will further consolidate Infineons position as the third largest semiconductor manufacturer in the DRAM market. According to forecasts by market research firm Gartner Dataquest, the semiconductor market in Asia is set to grow from approximately US-Dollar 4.9 billion in 2003 to around US-Dollar 9.4 billion in 2008.
This new move will enable Infineon to considerably increase its capacity from Winbond through Winbonds 200mm and 300mm production plants. In May 2002, the two companies signed an agreement whereby Winbond would manufacture DRAMs for computting applications in its 200mm plant in Hsinchu using Infineons 0.11-µm DRAM trench technology exclusively for Infineon. First products from the new 300mm plant, which will be built in Taichung, Taiwan, are expected for end of 2005.
Specialty memories support particularly demanding applications including Graphics RAM (128, 256Mbit) and mobile applications such as PDAs, mobile phones and SMART phones.
The extension of our cooperation with Winbond underlines our partner commitment in Asia and it further supports the growth of our DRAM business and product portfolio, said Thomas Seifert, CEO of Memory Products Business Group at Infineon Technologies AG. At the same time we are further strengthening our regional presence and aiming overall at a leading market position in Asia/Pacific.
Our previous successful collaboration with Infineon in the 0.11-micron process technology transfer has paved the way for broadening of the partnership, said C.C. Chang, President of Winbond Electronics Corp. This further solidifies the foundation for future technology transfer cooperations between the two companies.
This collaboration will further consolidate Infineons position as the third largest semiconductor manufacturer in the DRAM market. According to forecasts by market research firm Gartner Dataquest, the semiconductor market in Asia is set to grow from approximately US-Dollar 4.9 billion in 2003 to around US-Dollar 9.4 billion in 2008.
About Winbond
Winbond Electronics Corporation, the largest OBM (Original Branding Manufacturer) IC company in Taiwan, was established in 1987 in the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park. Winbonds product lines include micro-controller-based consumer products, PC and peripheral ICs, network access products, memory IC products and so on. In Taiwan and Eastern Asia, Winbond is the leading supplier of PC peripherals, such as I/O controllers, Mixed Signal ICs, in the global market. Winbond currently has three wafer fabs with around 4,000 employees worldwide, and possesses the most advanced 0.11-micron DRAM process technology. Winbonds headquarter is located in the city of Hsinchu in Taiwan and has subsidiaries located in the United States, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. Further information about Winbond is available at www.winbond.com.About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2003 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.15 billion with about 32,300 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at
www.infineon.com.
Information Number
INFXX200408.088