Fujitsu is spending over US $1.05 billion on a new chip manufacturing plant to keep up with rising worldwide demand. The global market for microchips is expected to swell 8% this year and by nearly 11% in 2007.

The company's new Japanese plant will begin volume operation in July of 2007 and will initially produce 300mm wafers on a 65 nanometer manufacturing process. This would be Fujitsu's second plant to produce 300mm wafers. The first plant will will have its capacity boosted to 15,000 unit a month by March of next year.

Fujitsu already has a facility in the Mei prefacture; it is currently responsible for much of S3's core logic. The additional fab will be Fujitsu's first 65nm capable facility.

This news article was written on January 12, 2006, quoting eWEEK.