Specialty foundry Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM), which markets as TowerJazz, is expanding its presence in the South American semiconductor industry, through its new representative, Fast Company Brazil. Tower is focusing on South America, especially Brazil, whose government has launched initiatives to expand fabless companies and design houses and establish OEMs.
One of the Brazilian government programs, CI BRASIL (Integrated Circuit Brasil), has sponsored 20 local design houses and trained more than 500 people in microelectronics. Tower says that it aims to utilize this momentum.
Tower cites a study by PwC, "Faster, greener, smarter - reaching beyond the horizon in the world of semiconductors," which says that the global semiconductor market growth will be powered by the increasing importance of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies' demand for semiconductor products. It says that both technological advances and the rising economies in these emerging markets will fuel the long-term growth of semiconductor demand, resulting in an annual average growth rate of 7.4% until 2015.
Tower VP sales Dani Ashkenazi said, "As the global specialty foundry leader, we believe TowerJazz's portfolio in power management, RF and high performance analog will enable Brazilian semiconductor companies to make strides in becoming significant players in the global market. Partnering with Fast Company Brazil will enable us to establish presence in the region and demonstrate our superior customer support to Brazilian companies."
Fast Company Brazil CEO Jose Antonio Scodiero founded the business agency in 2009. "The semiconductor market in South America is currently being formed and companies see value in personalized service to support their initiatives. Our local business development experience combined with TowerJazz's specialty process technologies, proven design enablement tools and excellent customer service will enable us to grow semiconductor business in this significant region," he said.
Tower's share price rose 2.3% in morning trading on the TASE today to NIS 3.45, after rising 2.9% on Nasdaq yesterday to $0.90, giving a market cap of $286 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 18, 2012
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