Foxconn to Manufacture CIS in China

Nikkei, EETimes: Foxconn Technology (AKA Hon Hai Precision Industry) is preparing to build a $9b chip fab in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai. The new fab will manufacture image sensors, chips for 8K TVs, and various sensors for industrial uses and connected devices, according to Nikkei. The construction is expected to start in 2021 (2020, according to Semimedia).

A majority of the investment is to be subsidized by Zhuhai city government. The new fab will rank as one of the country's top high-tech projects, according to Nikkei sources. The fab will make chips not just for its own use but for other customers, competing with TSMC, Globalfoundries, Samsung foundry unit, and SMIC.

According to Nikkei, Foxconn is expected to form a JV for the project with Sharp, which it acquired in 2016, and the Zhuhai government. However, Semimedia reports that Sharp denies its involvement in the project.

Meanwhile, Japan Times says that Sharp is going to spin-off its semiconductor business into two entities. One of them will be responsible for lasers, the second one - for sensors and other semiconductors. Sharp Chairman and President Tai Jeng-wu told reporters that he wants to tap overseas and domestic resources, showing eagerness to forge alliances with other firms including Sharp’s parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn).

Currently, Sharp manufactures semiconductor-related products at its plants in the prefectures of Hiroshima and Nara.

Picture source: EENews