AMD, UMC to build 12-inch fab

Advanced Micro Devices announced joint venture with Taiwan's United

Microelectronics Corp. to build and run a new 12-inch wafer chip plant that will

use revolutionary 0.065 micron production technology when it goes into operation

in 2005.

The facility will be located in Singapore. AMD and UMC will cooperate on

developing advanced new production processes for advanced new ICs built on the

12-inch wafers. The Singapore plant will produce AMD's Athlon and Duron

processors to augment production at a similar fab in Dresden, Germany, which as

an annual top output of 50 million processors.

The announcement follows statements by AMD executives at a recent analyst

meeting that the company would start working with contract manufacturers to

produce a portion of the ICs it needs. At the world's largest contract

chipmaker, UMC is a logical choice for AMD. "The joint venture will make

available for AMD for its half of the joint venture more square inches of

silicon," said AMD CEO Jerry Sanders.