Awards Presented for Lifetime Achievement and Industry Contribution

SINGAPORE ,  29 April 2013 -- SEMI today announced that Mr. Philip Yeo, chairman of SPRING Singapore, and Mr. Lee Kok Choy, country manager of Micron Technology Inc. Singapore, have been voted by the SEMI Singapore Regional Advisory Board as recipients of two prestigious awards recognizing their contributions to the development and success of the Southeast Asian semiconductor industry. The awards will be presented during festivities held at SEMICON Singapore 2013 ( www.semiconsingapore.org) on 7 May.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Yeo for his pioneering and significant contributions to Singapore’s economic development, especially in the promotion and growth of the semiconductor industry. During his tenure as Chairman of the EDB, Yeo was instrumental in leading Singapore’s strategic growth and investment into the semiconductor industry, which today boasts an annual output of over $49 billion, hires over 42,000 employees and has 14 wafer fabrication plants. Yeo was also the former chairman of A*STAR and former special advisor for Economic Development in the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office.

The Industry Contribution Award will be presented to Lee for his work in advancing the competitiveness of the wafer fabrication industry in Singapore. Lee's career in the Singapore semiconductor industry spans more than four decades, including positions at Texas Instruments, TECH and Micron. During his tenure at TECH and Micron, Lee was instrumental in growing their Singapore presence and maintaining Singapore’s competitiveness in the midst of competition from Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers. Lee also led the world’s first factory conversion from 200mm to 300mm technology while simultaneously maintaining production, and was instrumental into making Singapore into a base of Flash memory production that started in partnership with Intel.

"The contributions and accomplishments of both Mr. Yeo and Mr. Lee are well known within the Singapore and Southeast Asian semiconductor industry and these awards are a worthy recognition of their achievements on behalf of our industry," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.

Terry Tsao, president of SEMI Southeast Asia, added, "Yeo and Lee's dedication to advancing the establishment and growth of the industry here has helped build Singapore into a globally recognized center of microelectronics innovation and manufacturing."

The award recipients were voted by the SEMI Singapore Regional Advisory Board (RAB), an advisory group of industry executives focused on advancing SEMI's mission in Southeast Asia through the development and support of programs and initiatives designed to accelerate the growth and increase the visibility of the semiconductor industry in the region. The advisory board is led by newly elected executive directors including chairman KC Ang, senior vice president and general manager of GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore; vice-chairman Russell Tham, regional president, Applied Materials South East Asia and corporate vice president, Global Continuous Improvement, Applied Materials Inc.; and vice-chairman Mr. Jen Kwong Hwa, site director, Micron Semiconductor Asia.

"On behalf of SEMI and the industry, the SEMI Singapore RAB is proud to honor Mr. Yeo and Mr. Lee with these awards that acknowledge the key roles they have played in growing the Singapore semiconductor industry over the last two decades,” said KC Ang. “From a public and private sector perspective, their contributions have resulted in a robust semiconductor ecosystem in the region, where we continue to see this industry driving the global economic growth and now even enabling the explosive growth of the mobility markets that we are witnessing today."

The awards will be presented during two separate events held as part of SEMICON Singapore 2013 ( www.semiconsingapore.org). The Industry Achievement Award will be presented to Mr. Lee during the event opening ceremony on 7 May from 9:30-10:00am at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center, and the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Mr. Yeo during the SEMI Singapore VIP Dinner, also on 7 May, at the Fullerton Hotel.

About SEMI

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains. Our 1,900 member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.  For more information, visit  www.semi.org.


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