SHANGHAI, Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981), China's largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry, today announced that its customers' bank card IC products adopting SMIC's eEEPROM platform have obtained China Union Pay certifications. SMIC's 0.18-micron eEEPROM technology is one of SMIC's differentiated offerings for mature process nodes. The platform is targeted at China's fast-growing dual-interface financial IC card market, as well as the worldwide market for contactless smart cards, and any other applications requiring secure identification and frequent data updates. Currently, four of China's six bank card IC design houses that qualify for China Union Pay certification have chosen SMIC as their foundry partner. Among the four bank card IC design houses, three of them have already been certified and the fourth design house is targeted to be certified by the end of 2013.
Based on the research of the China Semiconductor Industry Association IC Design Branch, as of today, China's financial IC card demand is estimated to be 800 million units per year (50% in financial applications cards and 50% in other applications) with a potential compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% over the next 5 years.
"SMIC's eEEPROM platform includes both 0.18-micron and 0.13-micron technologies, with 0.13-micron delivering up to 50% reductions in both memory area and power consumption," said Dr. TY Chiu, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director of SMIC. "Since our eEEPROM platform is 100% compatible with our logic process, logic IP can be directly applied on our eEEPROM platform. We believe the platform's significant decrease in size, higher speed, lower leakage and improvements in power consumption will help our customers introduce many highly differentiated products."
"I am very pleased to see SMIC's progress in the financial IC card field," said Qin Sheng Wang, Council Chair for the China Semiconductor Industry Association IC Design Branch. "The financial IC card industry has huge market potential and robust demand in China. Chinese companies need to work together to conquer the challenges brought by the strong demand. I believe SMIC plays an essential role in leveraging its technology capability to collaborate within the China IC ecosystem and contribute to the localization of China's financial IC cards."
