SMIC inks $1.86B US tool purchase commitment

May 11, 2007 – Chinese flagship foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing
International Co. (SMIC) has signed six letters of intent to purchase a total of $1.86 billion worth of semiconductor manufacturing equipment over three-year periods from US vendors, including Applied Materials, Axcelis, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Novellus Systems, and Varian Semi. Equip. Assoc.

The commitment was part of a broader ceremony of trade agreements signed between US and Chinese companies at the US-China Hi-Tech Cooperation Forum in San Francisco.

“We believe that the US and China’s trade relation is critical to the development of the high-tech industry and to global trade as a whole,” said Sam T. Wang, president of SMIC Americas, in a statement. “We are currently at a crucial point in the world-wide development of the semiconductor industry and we are happy to aid in this growth.”

SMIC indicated in its latest quarterly results that it will spend ~$720 million in capex for FY07, with almost two-thirds of that ($450-$510 million) earmarked for a significant rampup in 2Q07.

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