April 11, 2006 – Hynix Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics say their joint venture chipmaking facility in Wuxi, China, has begun test operations a year after breaking ground, and will begin mass production of 20,000 200mm wafers/month by this summer, according to local media reports. Hynix plans to open a sister 300mm facility in China in 2H06, also with output capacity of 20,000 wafers/month. Hynix and ST formed the joint venture in 2004, with Hynix taking a 67% ownership stake.