Singapore is rapidly emerging as a key hub in the global semiconductor supply chain, with projections that the country could become the “sixth semiconductor powerhouse” by focusing on back-end processes and power semiconductors, particularly silicon carbide (SiC).

The United States, Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Japan currently dominate the semiconductor industry. The United States specializes in chip design, Taiwan in foundries, Korea in memory-centric integrated systems, China in its domestic market and state-led strategies, and Japan in materials and components. Singapore is now advancing as a next-generation manufacturing hub, driven by its strength in back-end processes and power semiconductors.

Foreign media reports said on Tuesday that Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) began operating the world’s first open R&D production line for 200mm (8-inch) industrial SiC. The line integrates all the processes, from device manufacturing to packaging and testing, on a single open platform with analysts saying this provides Singapore with a technical foundation to become a global hub for next-generation power semiconductors. Key global materials and equipment partners, including Germany’s Centrotherm, France’s Soitec, Japan’s Toray, and the Netherlands’ ASM, are participating in the project. The Singaporean government plans to invest a total of 1 billion Singapore dollars ($724.64 million) to foster next-generation semiconductor and advanced packaging technologies.

Singapore is particularly focused on strengthening its capabilities in advanced packaging, which has become a key technology that determines the performance and quality of high-end semiconductors. While back-end processes traditionally account for only 20 to 30 percent of semiconductor manufacturing costs, they are now recognized as high-value-added processes.

Major global semiconductor companies are also ramping up their investments in Singapore, with Micron building a dedicated high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging plant in Singapore at a cost of 10.22 trillion won ($7.41 billion). NXP has formed a joint venture with Taiwan’s VIS to establish a semiconductor fab in Singapore with an investment exceeding 10 trillion won. GlobalFoundries invested $4 billion to build a new facility while Taiwan’s UMC is investing 7.33 trillion won to start semiconductor mass production. Singapore’s strategy is clear: while Taiwan focuses on TSMC-led foundries and the United States on fabless ecosystems like Nvidia and Qualcomm, Singapore is concentrating on back-end and high-end equipment to strengthen its hybrid hub strategy.

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