Speech by SMS Koh Poh Koon at the Soitec Wafer Plant Opening Ceremony

​SPEECH BY DR KOH POH KOON, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY & MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AT SOITEC’S WAFER PLANT OPENING CEREMONY IN SINGAPORE, ON WEDNESDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2017, 3.30PM

Mr Paul Boudre, CEO of Soitec,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon. 

Opening remarks

1.            I am pleased to join you today to celebrate the opening of Soitec’s wafer plant in Singapore.  The company will begin manufacturing on a new fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator, or FD-SOI[1], wafer production line, and eventually ramp up the plant to be Soitec’s first FD-SOI wafer plant overseas.

2.            Soitec is the world market leader for FD-SOI wafers, producing more than 95% of all FD-SOI wafers sold.  Soitec’s S$365 million investment in Singapore marks a significant milestone for our Semiconductor sector.

There are significant growth opportunities in the Semiconductor sector

Singapore’s Semiconductor sector

3.            Singapore’s Semiconductor sector started out in the 1960s with the assembly plants of industry leaders such as Fairchild, National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments.  Over the years, we have built up a strong and comprehensive ecosystem with end-to-end capabilities across the Semiconductor value chain, including Integrated Circuit (IC) design, wafer fabrication, assembly and packaging, and final testing.  Today, 1 out of 10 ICs in the world are wafer fabricated, assembled or tested in Singapore.

4.            The Semiconductor sector is an important contributor to our Electronics industry, and more broadly, the manufacturing sector.  In 2016, Semiconductor contributed over S$57 billion in total output and employed more than 35,000 workers[2].  Among the manufacturing clusters, the Semiconductor sector is also one of the largest contributors to private sector R&D expenditure in Singapore, accounting for 26% of private sector R&D expenditure in 2015[3].

Growth Opportunities

5.            Electronics is increasingly pervasive in today’s digital world. Semiconductors form the backbone of many technologies, devices and gadgets that enable our daily lives.  We are also seeing growth opportunities with the emergence of new application areas, such as autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, healthcare and the Industrial Internet-of-Things.

6.            Advanced manufacturing technologies are also creating new opportunities for companies through improvements in productivity, optimisation of resources, and the creation of new products, processes and services.  This is why the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) had identified advanced manufacturing as one of the key growth areas for Singapore. 

Soitec’s Wafer Plant

7.            Soitec’s investment will better position Singapore to capture the growth opportunities in the Semiconductor sector.  Its FD-SOI wafer technology will enable the development of chips with increased processing speed as well as power efficiency.  Chips with such capabilities are important for advanced semiconductor devices such as microprocessors and smart power devices, and will have applications in diverse markets such as automotive, Internet-of-Things and 5G networks.

8.            Soitec’s wafer plant will also help to build up Singapore’s advanced manufacturing capabilities.  Soitec will be deploying sophisticated process control and measurement technologies, so that it can process raw wafers to produce layers with sub-micron thickness, which are about 1,000 times thinner than a strand of hair.  Such examples illustrate the remarkable potential of advanced manufacturing.

The Government will continue partnering the industry in supporting the growth and transformation of the Electronics industry, as well as equipping our workforce with the relevant skillsets for new job opportunities

9.            The Government will continue to partner the industry and other stakeholders in supporting the growth and transformation of the Electronics industry.  Earlier today, Minister of Industry Mr S. Iswaran announced the launch of the Electronics Industry Transformation Map (ITM) at the opening of JTC nanoSpace.  I am glad to see that Soitec’s investment is in line with our overall strategies under the ITM, which include investing in high-value components, and diversifying into new applications.

10.         The Government will also continue to partner the industry to create new job opportunities for our people, and equip them with the relevant skillsets.  As part of the launch of the Electronics ITM, we had announced the introduction of about 2,000 new PMET jobs by 2020.  These will include new job roles enabled by advanced manufacturing.

11.         Soitec’s wafer plant is expected to create over 200 engineering and technician jobs when fully ramped up, in roles such as Process Engineering and Yield Optimisation.  Soitec is committed to training their workforce so that they develop the specialised skillsets required for the production of leading-generation FD-SOI wafers.  For example, Soitec plans to send their engineers overseas to France for training, and will also fly in experts to facilitate training in Singapore.  I encourage all companies to support training and upgrading opportunities for their workers, and workers to actively participate in such efforts.

Concluding remarks

12.         Let me close by once again congratulating Soitec on the opening of its wafer plant in Singapore.  I am confident that this investment will better position Soitec and Singapore to capture the growth opportunities in the Semiconductor sector.  We look forward to further deepening and broadening our partnership, and wish you every success in your ventures. 

13.         Thank you.

[1] FD-SOI is an emerging wafer technology that enables higher-frequency (for handling radio-frequency signals, as well as faster processing power) and more power efficient ICs.
[2] Source: EDB Research & Statistics Unit
[3] A*STAR National Survey of R&D 2015. Semiconductors contributed S$1,524 in private sector R&D expenditure in 2015. Please note that S$1,524 only relates to business R&D expenditure by companies classified under the Semiconductor Manufacturing SSIC only.​