| Production capacity increase aimed at meeting growing demand in Asia |
| Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. (Head Office: 1-4-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo; President Shunichi Koyanagi), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., announced that it will greatly expand the 8-inch silicon wafer production capacity of its subsidiary company in Malaysia, S.E.H. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Head Office: Selangor, Malaysia; President Taro Hosono). It plans to increase the capacity of its manufacturing facility in Malaysia to 300,000 wafers per month from its present monthly production of 240,000 wafers. The total investment amount will be about 4 billion yen. Completion is scheduled for the end of August 2002. |
| S.E.H. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd is the largest silicon wafer production base among the Shin-Etsu Handotai Group of companies, and at present, their 8-inch wafer production line is in full-capacity operation. |
| This expansion of production capacity will allow the company to effectively cope with the strong increase in demand for these wafers in Asia and also satisfy customer requirements for high quality wafers. From now on, Shin-Etsu Handotai plans to concentrate production in Malaysia of silicon wafers of up to 8 inches, where these wafers can be produced with favorable cost competitiveness. |
| With this expansion, the silicon wafer production capacity of S.E.H. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., which is the world's top-class wafer production base, will reach 450,000 wafers monthly (in 6-inch equivalence) for up to 6-inch wafers and 300,000 wafers monthly for 8-inch wafers. |
| Shin-Etsu Handotai is continuing to invest in its Shirakawa Plant in Fukushima Prefecture, which is the most advanced next-generation 300mm wafer plant. With the expansion of its 8-inch wafer production capacity in Malaysia, Shin-Etsu Handotai will firmly hold the position of the world's No. 1 silicon wafer manufacturer.* |
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| *Note: According to a market research report issued by Gartner (Dataquest), Shin-Etsu Handotai's silicon wafer global market share for 2001 was 27.9%. |
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| About S.E.H. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. |
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| For inquires concerning this press release, please contact: |
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Dept.
Ken Nakamura, or Tetsuya Koishikawa
Tel: :+81-3-3246-5091 |
