Munich
and Singapore – November 17, 2005 – Infineon Technologies
AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX) and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing
(NASDAQ: CHRT and SGX-ST: Chartered) today announced
they have signed an agreement for the manufacturing
of 65 nanometer (nm) logic products. Infineon will
have Chartered manufacture low-power mobile-phone
products, with initial prototypes expected in the
first quarter of 2006 and production scheduled to
begin in the fourth quarter of 2006.
This announcement
builds on the joint 65nm technology development efforts
between IBM, Infineon, Chartered and Samsung. Today's
agreement with Chartered enables Infineon to participate
at the cutting-edge of technological development
in the semiconductor industry without having to invest
in new manufacturing capacity. Infineon retains the
flexibility to evolve its production skills in response
to future market developments.
“Infineon has decided
to have the 65nm technology, developed together with
Chartered, IBM and Samsung, produced by Chartered
in order to further expand its leading position in
customized products while achieving profitable growth,” said
Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, President and CEO of Infineon
Technologies AG. “The traditional positioning of
semiconductor companies along the entire value chain
from development through to production and sales
for logic products is in the process of changing
and is therefore subject of optimizing capital investment
and business development.”
“Chartered and Infineon
already have a strong development and manufacturing
alliance, and this is an exciting next step,” said
Chia Song Hwee, President and CEO of Chartered. “As
a joint development alliance, Chartered, Infineon,
IBM and Samsung are realizing significant economical
and technological advantages by pooling resources
and broad expertise. In this latest step, Infineon
will benefit from a seamless transition from development
to manufacturing with one of its development partners,
leveraging the manufacturing flexibility Chartered
offers. Infineon can continue to focus on differentiating
itself through development of low-power and customized
products, while Chartered provides a reliable and
cost-effective outsourcing solution to address Infineon's
manufacturing needs.”
During the next few months,
employees from Infineon sites in Europe and the
U.S. will deploy to Chartered to ensure the seamless
integration of the process technology into Chartered's
300-millimeter facility, Fab 7. Meanwhile, more than
200 engineers from the four participating joint development
companies continue to work together on the development
of next-generation technologies, including 45nm,
in East Fishkill, New York. About Chartered Chartered
Semiconductor Manufacturing (Nasdaq: CHRT, SGX-ST:
CHARTERED), one of the world's top dedicated semiconductor
foundries, offers leading-edge technologies down
to 90 nanometer (nm), enabling today's system-on-chip
designs. The company further serves the needs of
customers through its collaborative, joint development
approach on a technology roadmap that extends to
45nm. Chartered's strategy is based on open and comprehensive
design enablement solutions, manufacturing enhancement
methodologies, and a commitment to flexible sourcing.
In Singapore, the company operates a 300mm fabrication
facility and four 200mm facilities. Information about
Chartered can be found at http://www.charteredsemi.com
. Media Contact at Chartered: Tiffany Sparks, Phone:
+1 408 941 1185, Email: tiffanys@charteredsemi.com
Safe Harbour Statement
Chartered This press release contains forward-looking
statements, as defined in the safe harbor provisions
of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including
without limitation, statements relating to the expected
dates of our prototype and volume production 65 nm
wafers, and the deployment of employees from Infineon
to Fab 7 over the next few months, reflect our current
views with respect to future events, and are subject
to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause
actual results to differ materially from historical
results or those anticipated. Among the factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially are:
changes in market outlook and trends, specifically
in the foundry services and consumer, computer and
communications markets; demands from our major customers,
excess inventory and life cycles of specific products;
competition from other foundries; unforeseen delays
or interruptions in our plans for our fabrication
facilities; the performance level of and technology
mix in our fabrication facilities; our progress on
leading edge products; the successful implementation
of our partnership, technology and supply alliances;
the timing and rate of the semiconductor market recovery;
economic conditions in the United States as well
as globally and the growth rate of fabless companies
and the outsourcing strategy of integrated device
manufacturers. Although we believe the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are
based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no
assurance that our expectations will be attained.
In addition to the foregoing factors, a description
of certain other risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual results to differ materially can be
found in the section captioned "Risk Factors" in
our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2004 and the Company's Prospectus Supplement
dated July 29, 2005 filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which are based on the current view of management
on future events. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions
for automotive, industrial and multi-market sectors, for applications in communication,
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 2004 (ending September), the company achieved sales
of Euro 7.19 billion with about 35,600 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
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