SINGAPORE - 12/14/2010, UNITED STATES--(Marketwire - December 13, 2010) - STATS ChipPAC Ltd. ("STATS ChipPAC" or the "Company") (SGX-ST: STATSChP), a leading semiconductor test and advanced packaging service provider, today announced that its flip chip business has grown more than 50% in 2010 compared to 2009. During 2010, shipments of flip chip packages have surpassed 250 million units.
With the rapid expansion of its flip chip technology offering and manufacturing footprint, STATS ChipPAC has been able to support the strategic growth of its flip chip customers. The Company's sizeable flip chip portfolio ranges from large single die fcBGA packages with passive components used for graphics, CPU and ASIC devices to smaller fcFBGA packages including single die, multi-die and stacked configurations that combine wire bond and flip chip technology within a single package.
During 2010, STATS ChipPAC continued ramping up production of its flagship Bond-on-Lead (BOL) interconnection technology which enables the reduction in flip chip packaging cost while alleviating stress and mechanical damage to low K and extreme low K (ELK) layers in silicon. To address a wider range of applications requiring higher Input/Output (I/O) densities, copper column bump was introduced in conjunction with the BOL design to provide customers with a cost effective, lead-free flip chip solution that is scalable to very fine bump pitches. In addition, a number of process innovations in areas such as bumped wafer thinning, advanced molding technology, and die and substrate handling were introduced to achieve thinner flip chip packages with higher yields.
STATS ChipPAC has made strategic investments in its flip chip manufacturing operations to support the growth of customer demand in recent years. Today, the Company offers wafer bump and sort services in Taiwan, Singapore and China with assembly and final test services in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and China.
"We have had phenomenal growth in our flip chip business this year. In addition to our sustained leadership in packaging for the mobile market, we have diversified our flip chip technology portfolio and gained market share in the computing and networking markets. We have also expanded our foundry alliances to enable early development and qualification of flip chip packaging solutions for advanced silicon nodes. We are confident that these factors will provide us with a healthy growth trajectory going into 2011," said Dr. Raj Pendse, Vice President of Advanced Product and Technology Marketing, STATS ChipPAC.
Core enabling technologies such as copper column bump and fine pitch interconnection provide a seamless migration path into more advanced solutions such as Through Silicon Via (TSV) which require fine silicon-to-silicon and silicon-to-substrate interconnection. STATS ChipPAC's leading edge facility in Singapore is already active in the development of TSV technology solutions that provide a higher level of integration in a smaller form factor.
Dr. Pendse continued, "While we focus on delivering the best flip chip solutions to our customers today, we are also taking a more holistic view of future market trends and selecting core technology elements that become building blocks for our future products. Copper column bump, BOL interconnection, advanced wafer thinning and thin die/substrate handling are examples of such technology elements which will find increasing use in our upcoming new product introductions."
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release, including expected growth in the STATS ChipPAC flip chip business and expectations of new product introductions, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; prevailing market conditions; demand for end-use applications products such as communications equipment, consumer and multi-applications and personal computers; decisions by customers to discontinue outsourcing of test and packaging services; level of competition; our reliance on a small group of principal customers; our continued success in technological innovations; pricing pressures, including declines in average selling prices; intellectual property rights disputes and litigation; our ability to control operating expenses; our substantial level of indebtedness and access to credit markets; potential impairment charges; availability of financing; changes in our product mix; our capacity utilization; delays in acquiring or installing new equipment; limitations imposed by our financing arrangements which may limit our ability to maintain and grow our business; returns from research and development investments; changes in customer order patterns; shortages in supply of key components; customer credit risks; disruption of our operations; loss of key management or other personnel; defects or malfunctions in our testing equipment or packages; rescheduling or cancelling of customer orders; adverse tax and other financial consequences if the taxing authorities do not agree with our interpretation of the applicable tax laws; classification of our Company as a passive foreign investment company; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; changes in environmental laws and regulations; exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; majority ownership by Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited ("Temasek") that may result in conflicting interests with Temasek and our affiliates; unsuccessful acquisitions and investments in other companies and businesses; labor union problems in South Korea; uncertainties of conducting business in China and changes in laws, currency policy and political instability in other countries in Asia; natural calamities and disasters, including outbreaks of epidemics and communicable diseases, the continued trading and listing of our ordinary shares on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST"); and other risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F dated March 5, 2010. You should not unduly rely on such statements. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
About STATS ChipPAC Ltd.
STATS ChipPAC Ltd. is a leading service provider of semiconductor packaging design, assembly, test and distribution solutions in diverse end market applications including communications, digital consumer and computing. With global headquarters in Singapore, STATS ChipPAC has design, research and development, manufacturing or customer support offices in 10 different countries. STATS ChipPAC is listed on the SGX-ST. Further information is available at www.statschippac.com. Information contained in this website does not constitute a part of this release.
Contact Information:
Investor Relations Contact:
Tham Kah Locke
Vice President of Corporate Finance
Tel: (65) 6824 7788
Fax: (65) 6720 7826
email: