July 3, 2003 – ST Assembly Test Services Ltd. (STATS), Singapore, an independent semiconductor test and advanced packaging service provider, has announced plans to open a manufacturing facility in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Park.

The 25,000-square-foot facility, expected to be operational in October 2003, will produce wafer probe and final test for mixed-signal and high-end digital applications.

The initial cash investment will be approximately $10 million, most of which will come in 2004. STATS will transfer some existing production equipment from its Singapore operations to the new facility.

STATS president and CEO Tan Lay Koon says that if the demand grows for mixed-signal IC packaging and testing, the company may establish a full-service facility in China, and is currently scouting out locations for such a facility.

“It is clear that STATS’ intention to move into China is not just to serve its existing international customers but to tap into the China market,” according to DBS Vickers Securities, one of the largest securities and futures brokerages in Singapore, in a note to clients.