Chinese chip foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) said it had signed a framework agreement to invest $7.5 billion for a new 12-inch foundry production line in Tianjin.
The plans mark an ongoing expansion for the Shanghai-based company, which is under U.S. sanctions related to ties to China's military, which the company denies. It is a key part of China's drive to build up its domestic chip sector.
According to a late Friday filing, the new fab will have a production capacity of 100,000 12-inch wafers per month serving process nodes between 28 nanometres and 180 nanometres.
The plant will be run as a subsidiary of SMIC in cooperation with the government of Tianjin's Xiqing district, and will have an initial registered capital of $5 billion, the filing said.
The company did not say when the plant would go into production.
SMIC said in late 2020 it would build a 12-inch fab in Beijing, followed by announcements last year of new fabs in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
The Tianjin fab will be the fourth the company has under construction in China, complementing three 8-inch fabs and three 12-inch fabs in operation in the country.
