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mike655mm
Not real surprising. A few billion here and a few billion there and, before you ...
bearchow
The way the economies going, the only companies viable to invest in will be ...
Globalfoundries' Abu Dhabi wafer fab postponed, says report
Peter Clarke
11/24/2011 6:10 AM EST
LONDON – Chip foundry Globalfoundries Inc. has postponed plans to start building a wafer fab in Abu Dhabi in 2012, due to uncertain global economic conditions, according to a local newspaper report.
Back in May 2011 it was reported that Globalfoundries (Milpitas, Calif.) was planning to spend between $6 billion and $8 billion building a wafer fab in Abu Dhabi with groundbreaking to take place in 2012 and chip production scheduled to start in 2015. Meanwhile the foundry is constructing a wafer fab in Malta, Saratoga County, New York. That plan has been put on hold with a re-assessment to come some time in 2012, the report said.
Globalfoundries was formed by the spin-off of manufacturing facilities belonging to processor company Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and the acquisition of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. This provided Globalfoundries with close to leading-edge production facilities in Dresden, Germany and Singapore. The money for the purchases came from Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), a sovereign wealth fund owned by the government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Globalfoundries is 91 percent owned by ATIC.
"We will not be engaging in any ground breaking in Abu Dhabi in 2012," a recent National report quoted Ibrahim Ajami, CEO of ATIC, as saying. The National is an Abu Dhabi English-language newspaper.
"Against the backdrop of a global economy still very volatile, we took a decision from a board level that we should not have another facility right now, but we should assess what happens before the end of 2012 on our growth strategy," the report also quoted Ajami as saying.
The postponement of what had been ambitious capital expenditure plans come at a time when Globalfoundries is also struggling on a technical front and appears to be losing the confidence of its anchor customer AMD (see Reports: AMD cancels Globalfoundries 28-nm APUs and Opinion: AMD roadmap change helps TSMC?)
Many market analysts are predicting that 2012 will be a low- or no-growth year for the semiconductor market due to global economic uncertainty.
Related links and articles:
http://www.thenational.ae/business/technology/chip-maker-delays-plan-for-factory-in-capital
Opinion: AMD roadmap change benefits TSMC?
Reports: AMD cancels Globalfoundries 28-nm APUs
Report: Abu Dhabi fab to break ground in 2012
Globalfoundries: New York fab ready for kit
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RogerMel
11/24/2011 1:34 PM EST
Let's send our technology and jobs to yet another country where the people have dislike for us...Hey Global foundaries, what's it like to be "owned".
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SiliconAsia
11/24/2011 2:14 PM EST
Roger, Do you have $ to buy Global foundries? If not, welcome to free market capitalism.
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yusufjamal
11/24/2011 11:55 PM EST
AMD moving to TSMC for 28 nm APU,shows that GlobalFoundries in which they have 11% voting rights is not fit for 28 nm process node. Need of hour for GF is to first fix their existing process to be competitive rather than opening new shops.
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kinnar
11/25/2011 5:45 AM EST
It was a very good opportunity Abu-Dhabi had but unfortunately the country will have to either wait for that dream to come true it they may completely loose that if the economic conditions still goes worsen.
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Dr DSP
11/25/2011 3:11 PM EST
What would anyone put $ in a semiconductor facility these days. Better to invest in something that will make a profit. Follow Abu-Dhabi's lead and by a few entertainment companies with a good library of popular movies...
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wilber_xbox
11/26/2011 5:16 AM EST
Will the hiring spree of GF come to a halt now with the slew of bad news? Abu Dhabi seems like a strange choice to build a fab. Wouldn't they have to recruit in-mass from other countries if they go ahead and build fab in Abu-Dhabi.
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bearchow
11/26/2011 10:10 AM EST
The way the economies going, the only companies viable to invest in will be companies like ones that make toothpaste and toilet paper. Commodities
that people need even in the midst of deep economic collaps.
Pesky Varmint
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mike655mm
11/28/2011 8:16 PM EST
Not real surprising. A few billion here and a few billion there and, before you know it, it adds up to really big money. New Fabs are REALLY expensive these days.
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