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Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
Fujitsu Limited

Shinko Microelectronics Ireland Limited to Discontinue Operations

- Proposed plant closing reflects severe global slowdown in semiconductor demand -

Tokyo, September 21, 2001--- Reflecting the severe slowdown in global semiconductor demand, Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd. and Fujitsu Limited today announced they would begin consultations with trade union officials about the proposed cessation of operations at and closure of Shinko Microelectronics Ireland Ltd. in Tallaght, Dublin. The semiconductor plant is a joint venture between Shinko Electric and its majority shareholder, Fujitsu. Approximately 340 employees at Tallaght would be affected by the plant closure, which is proposed for early November 2001.

Although Shinko Electric actively sought potential buyers to secure employment and a productive future at the facilities at Tallaght, it was not successful due to the deepening and protracted global downturn in the IT industry. Shinko Electric sincerely regrets this situation and the impact that the closure would have on the community. Shinko Electric greatly values the contribution made by Shinko Microelectronics Ireland's employees, who are highly skilled and cooperative, and Shinko Microelectronics Ireland will do all that it can to mitigate the consequences of the proposals, including helping to find new jobs for the employees.

Impacted by the severe conditions in the worldwide semiconductor market, particularly weakening demand for flash memories and SAW filters used in mobile phones, Shinko Microelectronics Ireland has been suffering from slack orders for assembly of those chips. The plant's logic IC subcontracting business has also been greatly affected by price declines and difficulties in securing additional business in the European semiconductor market. There is no foreseeable end to the market slump. The move is also related to the realignment of Fujitsu's worldwide semiconductor production organization, which was announced by Fujitsu in August.

The plant, formerly named Fujitsu Microelectronics Ireland Limited, was established in August 1980 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited and used as a back-end DRAM assembly and testing facility, serving as an important base for the supply of memory products and services to European-based customers. In November 1998, Shinko Electric obtained a 51.1% equity shareholding in Fujitsu Microelectronics Ireland Limited and renamed the company, shifting its product focus from DRAMs to subcontracting of logic ICs and later consignment production of flash memories and SAW filters.

Company Highlights - Shinko Microelectronics Ireland Limited
Headquarters:Dublin, Ireland
Managing Director : Hiroaki Muraishi
Established:November 1998 (Fujitsu Microelectronics Ireland Limited established August 1980)
Employees:338 (as of August 31, 2001)
Capitalization:Euro 22,176,000-
Ownership:Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd. - 51.1%
Fujitsu Limited - 48.9%
Business:Subcontractor of semiconductor products (logic ICs, flash memories, SAW filters)


Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd. (TSE:6967), a Fujitsu group company, is recognized as a leading all-round manufacturer of semiconductor packages, most notably leadframes and PLPs (plastics laminated packages), and an IC subcontractor. The company, which was founded in Japan in 1946, has manufacturing plants in Japan, Malaysia and Korea, and it employs over 5,000 people worldwide. Shinko Electric's annual sales were in excess of US$1.0 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001.
Internet: http://www.shinko.co.jp

Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu is a leading provider of Internet-focused information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Its pace-setting technologies, best-in-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and worldwide corps of systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help its customers succeed. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.48 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001.
Internet: http://www.fujitsu.com/

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Press contacts:
Roger Murphy, Personnel Director
Shinko Microelectronics Ireland Limited
Tel: +353-1-452-0744
Fax: +353-1-452-0539
e-mail: roger.murphy@smil.ie

Shuji Eguchi, Hiroshi Aruga
General Affairs Department
Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
Tel: +81-26-283-2801
Fax: +81-26-284-8981
e-mail: h.aruga@mail.shinko.co.jp

Yuri Momomoto, Robert Pomeroy
Fujitsu Limited, Public Relations
Tel: +81-3-3215-5236
Fax: +81-3-3216-9365
E-mail: pr@fujitsu.com

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