Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) with the announcement
of its latest quarterly results reported that it will diversify into the solar market. Dr. Richard Chang, CEO at SMIC reported
that the company plans to start facility installation in the third quarter and equipment move in on the fourth quarter. The
project is part of SMIC’s wafer reclamation project in Shanghai to produce solar power modules.
SMIC for its second quarter ended June 30, 2005 reported revenues
of $279.5 million, up 12.3 percent from the first quarter of 2005. The company has been one of China’s fastest growing
semiconductor companies. Its move into the solar market, follows that of American based Cypress Semiconductor, who abandoned
plans for the development of magnetoresitive memory chips in favor of solar cells. One of the reasons cited was the lower
cost of entry into the solar market. Moves into mainstream memory markets can often require companies to commit to hundreds
of millions if not billion of dollars of capital investments each year – without any guarantees of profitability. Solar
cell technology is attractive for semiconductor companies because of the low initial investment and their experience in dealing
with the complexities of silicon process technologies and manufacturing.
