By Greg Gao

National Silicon Industry Group(NSIG上海硅产业集团), a Shanghai-based semiconductor wafer maker, announced on May 10 that its wholly-owned Finnish subsidiary Okmetic would invest €388 million ($409 million) to construct a 200mm silicon wafer facility in Finland.

After the completion of the project, Okmetic will add an annual production capacity of 3.132 million 200mm polished semiconductor wafers, further consolidating its market position in sophisticated market segments such as advanced sensors, power devices, radio frequency filters and integrated passive devices, said the announcement.

The project’s total investment will reach €388 million (RMB 2.95 billion) and all the funds will be used for the construction of plant and supporting facilities, equipment purchase, and installation.

NSIG quoted SEMI’s forecasts to explain its plan: By 2024, the global foundries’ 200mm wafer manufacturing capacity will increase by 17% compared with 2020, reaching a record high of 6.6 million wafers per month. Meanwhile, 22 new 200mm wafer fabs will be constructed globally to meet growing semiconductor demand for 5G, automotive electronics, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

The company will combine its resources and Okmetic’s dominant position in the above-mentioned high-end market segments to seize the current market opportunities and accelerate the expansion of 200mm featured silicon wafers capacity, according to NSIG. 

Established in 2015 and based in Shanghai, NSIG manufactures and distributes silicon products. The company produces solar silicon rods, silicon wafers, single crystal silicon rods, and other related products. 

Okmetic is an NSIG-owned company in Finland that supplies tailored, high value-added silicon wafers to be used in the manufacture of sensors as well as discrete semiconductors and analog circuits. It is the world's seventh largest silicon wafer manufacturer and leading supplier of advanced, high value-added silicon wafers. Okmetic has a global customer base and sales network based in Finland, the United States, Japan, and China, according to the company.