The Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) signed a formal agreement with Chengdu Municipal Government on July 15th for the investment of $175 million towards building an integrated circuit encapsulation testing factory.

The project will start later this year in the Export Product Processing Area of Chengdu's High-tech Zone and will be put into operation a year later. SMIC, registered in the Cayman Islands in April 2000, is one of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturers producing IC ranging from .35 micron to .13 micron. At present, SMIC has three factories in Shanghai Zhangjiang High-tech Zone and one in Tianjin.