Infineon involvement in Asia's biggest smart card project - Infineon Technologies to Supply Smart Card Controllers to TECO for National Healthcare Chip Card Project in Taiwan

Apr 4, 2002 | Market News

Munich, Germany – April 4, 2002 – Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX), the world’s leading supplier of integrated circuits for chip cards, today announced an agreement with TECO Electric & Machinery Co. Ltd., Taiwan, to provide secure microcontroller chips used in smart cards that TECO is manufacturing for use in the Taiwan National Healthcare Chip Card project.

Under this agreement, Infineon Technologies will supply TECO, the sole supplier of cards to Taiwan’s health card project, with security controllers of its 66Plus family featuring 32 Kbytes of EEPROM. The microcontroller chips to be incorporated into the card will be produced on a foundry basis by United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), a certified Infineon manufacturing partner in Taiwan. The 66Plus controller ICs are manufactured using 0.22 micron process technology, and combine an outstanding security controller architecture with a high-performance memory configuration for optimized power consumption.

The 66Plus controller ICs will be used in Taiwan’s National Healthcare Chip Card project, in which 22 million Taiwanese residents will be provided with a smart card between July 2002 and the end of 2003. This card will replace existing paper health card systems, and will store cardholder information such as medical records, treatment and visit records, and administrative data.

“We found Infineon’s controller ICs to be the ideal solution for the National Healthcare smart card program. We were impressed by its exceptional security capabilities and world-leading technology, and with Infineon’s superior technical support. As the global leader in chip card ICs, Infineon is the perfect partner for us,” said K.P. Chang, vice president of TECO smart card division.

“We are pleased to be working with TECO to roll out Taiwan’s National Healthcare smart card, which is also the first major project of its kind to be rolled out in Asia. Our 66Plus product family is a proven, multi-application platform, and will enable the Taiwanese to experience and enjoy new dimensions of smart card applications,” said Loh Kin Wah, president and managing director, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific.

Infineon is one of two suppliers of microcontrollers for the Taiwan Healthcare Chip Card Project. TECO Electric Machinery and the Taiwan Government have announced that a total of 24 million chip cards, including replacement and spare cards, will be issued.

Further information on the 66Plus and other secure chip products from Infineon is available at www.infineon.com/security_and_chipcard_ics

About Infineon


Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, 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 the fiscal year 2001 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.67 billion with about 33,800 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.


Copyright © 2002 Infineon Technologies North America Corp. All rights reserved. Infineon and the stylized Infineon Technologies design are registered trademarks and service marks of Infineon Technologies AG. Other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Information Number

INFCC200204.066e