Flanders Hoping to attract Chipmakers

08/01/1997

Flanders hoping to attract chipmakers

The foreign investment office of Flanders (a region of Belgium) is calling on top chipmakers to bring their fab projects there, and is offering a competitive incentive package. Roger De Keersmaecker, director of the foreign investment office`s IC project, said his agency has located several sites appropriate for fabs in the Province of Limburg, about an hour east of Brussels. Two of them are suitable for megafabs capable of producing 20,000 wafers/month in three modules.

"There are no companies with detailed plans at this moment, but the word is out. We have several leads and are talking to some top companies," Keersmaecker said. "They are starting to look at investments again after the dark period of 1996, and we plan to be on the next rising wave." Last year, the Flemish government began an effort to attract chipmakers and currently hopes to bring at least two firms there between now and 1999.

The proposed fab sites are typically 50 hectares (about 124 acres) each, with smaller sites also available. A local development agency is preparing water supply and wastewater discharge plans; sites are developed in terms of ownership, access roads, and electrical and gas connections. Flanders is offering a no-strings cash grant of 25 percent of the total investment, and various tax-related deductions and exemptions. In addition, Flanders is willing to negotiate investment partnerships/joint ventures with interested firms.

Keersmaecker said the IMEC research center, which is located in Leuven, is also an incentive of sorts for prospective companies, offering people, technology, training and other support. "Flanders is definitely matching the incentives offered by other regions.... On the other hand, it is hard to isolate one single benefit; we are convinced that the battle should be fought also on other grounds," he said. "In the end, it is the total package that will close the deal."