Infineon opens Thailand plant as country ramps up semiconductor push

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon Technologies opened a new facility in Thailand on Thursday, as Southeast Asia's second-largest economy pushes to attract investment into the semiconductor industry amid rising regional competition.

• The new facility near Bangkok is a backend manufacturing site, where chips are processed into finished and tested semiconductors, with an initial investment of more than €100 million ($113.57 million), the company said at a briefing.

• The site will open with up to 30,000 sq m of cleanroom space -- controlled environments required for semiconductor manufacturing -- and can be expanded to 150,000 sq m, said Infineon's Chief Operations Officer Alexander Gorski.

• "It's a strategic long-term investment," Gorski said, pointing to Thailand's proximity to key markets such as China. "We are well prepared for strong future growth."

• The company has 13 manufacturing sites across the US, Europe, China and Southeast Asia, and can potentially double its revenue with its existing cleanroom space capacity, according to Gorski.

• The Thailand expansion is also part of Infineon's efforts to offer dual sourcing to its customers, Gorski said: "If something is going wrong in the factory in Malaysia, we can support our customers through the factory in Thailand."

• Thailand is aiming to draw $18 billion in semiconductor investments by 2030 by focusing on photonics, power electronics and sensors, as part of a longer-term strategy for the sector, said Board of Investment Secretary General Narit Therdsteerasukdi at the same briefing.

• Between 2023 and July 2026, Thailand has drawn 910 billion baht ($27.12 billion) of investments in the semiconductor and advanced electronics sector, according to a presentation by Narit.

• Besides financial incentives to attract new investments, Narit said that Thai authorities are looking to train nearly 85,000 skilled workers and over 1,700 researchers for the sector by 2030.

• Global semiconductor sales are forecast to hit $1 trillion this year, doubling to $2 trillion by 2035, driven by booming growth in ​data centres used to power artificial intelligence technologies.

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(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by David Stanway)