[News] Singapore Unveils Budget, Boosts Semiconductor Investment

On February 18, Singapore’s Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong, delivered the 2025 fiscal budget and policy direction speech in Parliament, pledging to increase investments in semiconductors, energy, and aviation sectors.

According to the budget plan, Singapore intends to allocate SGD 1 billion (approximately USD 745 million) to establish a new semiconductor research and development center to drive innovation. Wong stated that Singapore accounts for more than 10% of the global semiconductor market share and over 20% of semiconductor equipment production, making it necessary to further enhance its existing competitive advantages.

Data shows that Singapore’s semiconductor industry began in the 1960s and has continued to develop in recent years, forming a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem that covers chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, equipment, and materials. According to the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association, the country has more than 30 integrated circuit design centers, nearly 20 wafer fabrication plants, and over 10 assembly and testing companies.

Currently, Singapore has attracted a number of major semiconductor companies to invest in local manufacturing plants or R&D centers, including Applied Materials, Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), NXP Semiconductors, Micron, TSMC, Infineon, GlobalFoundries, UMC, Soitec, and others.

Among them, Applied Materials plans to establish an EPIC Advanced Packaging collaboration platform in Singapore to drive innovation in new chip architectures, materials, and processes. Reportedly, companies collaborating through this platform will include AMD, TSMC, Samsung, and Intel.

Micron has invested USD 7 billion in Singapore to build an advanced packaging plant for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which officially broke ground on January 8, 2025. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2026 and will expand Micron’s overall advanced packaging capacity from 2027 to meet the growing demand driven by artificial intelligence.

Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) and NXP Semiconductors jointly broke ground on a 12-inch wafer fabrication plant in Singapore on December 4, 2024. With a total investment of USD 7.8 billion, the facility is expected to commence mass production in 2027 and reach a monthly capacity of 55,000 wafers by 2029, creating approximately 1,500 jobs. Reports indicate that after the first 12-inch plant goes into production, VIS and NXP will evaluate the construction of a second wafer fabrication plant.

(Photo credit: Micron)