Mr S Iswaran at the Launch of the Research Foundry

DRAFT SPEECH FOR MR S ISWARAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE RESEARCH FOUNDRY IN THE INSTITUTE OF MICROELECTRONICS, SINGAPORE SCIENCE PARK II , 18 AUGUST 2006, 11 AM

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1.It is my pleasure to join you here this morning to launch the Research Foundry (R&D Foundry) in the Institute of Microelectronics (or IME in short). Since its formation in 1991, the IME has played a key role in supporting the semiconductor industry development in Singapore. Today’s launch marks yet another significant milestone event in IME’s history.

Strong growth in semiconductor output

2.The rise of China as a global manufacturing force has presented both challenges and opportunities to Singapore’s manufacturing sector. While lower value-added activities have indeed moved away, we have moved up the value chain to more sophisticated manufacturing.This has been supported by our investment promotion of higher value add manufacturing activities, as well as increased emphasis on manpower development and skills training.

3.Manufacturing output in the first half of this year grew strongly by 16.4%. Of this, the electronics cluster registered a 10.3% increase with expansions in both the semiconductors and computer peripherals segments. In particular, the production of semiconductors rose 33.7%, riding on the continued demand for DRAMs[1] and NAND[2] products for mobile consumer electronic products.

4.Today, the semiconductor industry is the biggest contributor to Singapore’s electronic output (about S$31 billion). It is also a major job creator, with 37,000 people employed in the semiconductor industry alone.

5.Indeed, Singapore is proud to support a semiconductor industry that is home to some 20 chip assembly and test plants, and 14 wafer fabrication facilities. This includes the world's top three wafer foundry companies, the top three assembly and test sub-contract companies, as well as four of the world's top ten Integrated Circuit (IC) design companies.

IME - Past and future

6.Over the last five years, IME has partnered or supported some 65 local enterprises and 98 multi-national corporations in joint research projects and advanced services.On average, IME engages in over 800 projects or services with these companies annually. Many of these companies rank amongst the top names in IC design, wafer fabrication, and electronics packaging and assembly. In return, these companies have contributed close to S$6 million annually to IME's operating budget. These statistics are important as they are testament to the relevance of IME’s work to the industry.

7. IME's research investment into the emerging bio-electronics and bio-MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) areas, is also quickly bearing fruit, as evidenced by the commercialization licensing deals that will be signed today.

8.The establishment of IME’s R&D Foundry is timely as it is poised to ride on the re-emerging waves of silicon photonics and MEMS. In particular, the R&D Foundry plays an important role to provide a seamless conduit for technology jointly developed by IME and its partners to be transferred to industry for manufacturing. I am happy to learn that two such tripartite agreements have already been signed between IME, Chartered Semiconductor and their industry collaborators. Such a business model will no doubt contribute to the growth of the Singapore semiconductor industry.

Conclusion

9.On this note, I would like to take the opportunity to commend IME, together with A*STAR Exploit Technologies, for their commitment and continuing efforts in developing the semiconductor industry.

10.I am confident that, going forward, IME will continue to play a major role in providing technology foundations that will help create new markets and opportunities for Singapore’s semiconductor industry.

11.Thank you.

[1] Dynamic Random Access Memory, pronounced as D-RAM

[2] Type of flash memory used for mass storage, pronounced as one word NAND