TAIWAN-SEMICON
Taiwan's GlobalWafers plans to issue up to US$500 million in 10-year convertible bonds, which will be fully subscribed by Micron Technology, further deepening the two companies' cooperation in semiconductor wafer supply and US production capacity layout. Image source: Central News Agency.

Taiwanese silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers plans to raise up to US$500 million through a private placement of unsecured convertible bonds, with the entire issue to be subscribed by US memory chipmaker Micron Technology. The move will further deepen the companies’ long-term partnership and highlights how the global semiconductor supply chain is shifting from conventional buyer-supplier relationships toward closer strategic cooperation.

According to a Central News Agency report on Nov. 3, GlobalWafers’ board approved the issuance plan that day. The convertible bonds will have a 10-year maturity and a 0.5% annual coupon, with Micron serving as the sole subscriber.

GlobalWafers said the bond issue is part of efforts to deepen the companies’ strategic partnership. The two companies reached a 10-year long-term cooperation agreement in July, combining long-term supply commitments with financial cooperation to support GlobalWafers’ US operations and capacity expansion while strengthening the supply of advanced semiconductor wafers.

GlobalWafers Chairwoman and CEO Doris Hsu said the closer cooperation with Micron reflects the trust the companies have built over many years and shows that relationships between semiconductor suppliers and customers are gradually evolving into long-term strategic partnerships.

As one of the world’s major memory chipmakers, Micron has continued to invest in advanced memory and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technologies in recent years to meet demand for AI computing and data centers. Silicon wafers are a fundamental material in semiconductor manufacturing and play a crucial role in chip capacity and process development.

GlobalWafers’ private placement plan remains subject to shareholder approval. The company also completed a US$1.432 billion global depositary receipt (GDR) issuance in September, with proceeds earmarked for raw material purchases, overseas capacity expansion and strengthening its financial structure.

From the perspective of the global semiconductor industry, long-term capital and supply partnerships between Taiwanese materials suppliers and US chipmakers can improve supply chain stability. They also reflect the growing importance of key materials and manufacturing capacity as the AI industry continues to expand.