| Type | Public (NYSE: SMI, SEHK: 0981) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder(s) | Dr. Richard Chang |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China (incorporated in Cayman Islands) |
| Key people | Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, CEO |
| Revenue | US$1.55 billion (2010) |
| Operating income | US$43.45 million (2010) |
| Net income | US$14.01 million (2010) |
| Employees | 9,424 (April 30, 2011) |
| Website | smics.com |
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, (abbrev. SMIC, NYSE: SMI, SEHK: 981) is a semiconductor foundry in mainland China, providing integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing services at 350 nm to 45nm technologies. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Shanghai, SMIC has wafer fabrication sites throughout China, account management offices in the US, Italy, and Japan, marketing and customer service offices in Taiwan and Israel, and a representative office in Hong Kong.
SMIC was founded by Richard Chang (Traditional Chinese: 張汝京) in April 2000. SMIC had its IPO in 2004 and has since become the largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry in mainland China. In August 2011, SMIC named Tzu-Yin Chiu (Traditional Chinese: 邱慈雲) as the CEO, following the death of its chairman Jiang Shang Zhou. [1] Chiu previously worked at TSMC.
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SMIC provides low-cost housing to employees in its Living Quarters (LQ). Surrounding the LQ are many restaurants, grocery stores, and shops, as well as a K-12 school, dental clinic, pharmacy, recreational facility, language training center, and music training center.
SMIC also owns SMIC Private School. The school's initial purpose was to provide low-cost private education for SMIC employees' children, but is now open to non-SMIC employees. SMIC Private School offers lower-priced tuition than others in Shanghai while still maintaining a quality international school education. SMIC Private School graduates have been accepted to schools such as Princeton University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Rice University, Amherst College, Williams College, Wellesley College, Middlebury College, Georgetown University, New York University, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, and many others. The school had a finalist, two semi-finalists, and a commended scholar in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
SMIC provides the Employee Continuing Education program to its manufacturing assistants (MAs). MAs are encouraged to participate in preparatory courses for passing college entrance exams, and, with tuition grants provided by the company, can receive their bachelor’s degrees.
SMIC employee-funded Enyou Foundation partnered with Project Hope to build Hope Schools in remote, poverty-stricken areas of China. SMIC staff and friends have supported Project Hope in many remote areas. Employees helped to build schools in the provinces of Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. In addition, solar energy installations as well as computers were donated. Many employees also joined the earthquake relief efforts in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
SMIC has also been involved in summer programs to bring teachers from rural areas of China to Shanghai to be taught modern teaching skills and methodology.
The company was the target of a lawsuit brought by Taiwan's TSMC, accusing SMIC of misappropriating TSMC intellectual property.[5] The first round of litigation ended in 2005 with $175 million settlement. A second round was opened in 2006. The liability phase of the lawsuit began on September 9, 2009 in Oakland, California,[6] and the jury found SMIC liable on 61 out of 65 claims.[7]
SMIC entered into a settlement agreement with TSMC to resolve all pending lawsuits between the parties, including the legal action filed by TSMC in California for which a verdict was returned by the jury against SMIC on November 4, 2009 and the legal action filed by SMIC in Beijing. SMIC and TSMC have entered into a settlement agreement on November 9, 2009 to settle and dismiss the California Case, including all claims and defenses of SMIC yet to be decided in that case and SMIC's appeal in the Beijing Case, thus concluding all pending court litigation between the parties.
Key provisions of the settlement include a mutual release of all claims that were or could have been brought in the pending lawsuits; termination of SMIC's obligation to make remaining payments under the prior settlement agreement between the parties (approximately US$40 million); payment to TSMC of an aggregate of US$200 million; and a grant to TSMC of approximately 8% of SMIC's issued share capital and a warrant which would allow TSMC to obtain total ownership of approximately 10% of SMIC's issued share capital.[8]