Mitsubishi Materials’ Tie-Up in Chinese Gold Bonding Wire

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) announced on Friday the firm enters into partnership with Tanaka Denshi Kogyo K.K., the affiliate company of Tanaka Precious Metals group, to produce gold bonding wire in China for semiconductors. MMC will transfer 49% equity share of the wholly owned subsidiary, MMC Electronics Hangzhou, which produces gold bonding wire in China, to Tanaka Denshi Kogyo on October 1 of this year forming a joint venture.Gold bonding wire using semiconductor device manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assemblers recently shift their production bases to China. Gold bonding wire demand is likely to increase in Chinese market consequently and the users request the suppliers to produce and deliver gold bonding wire inside China sooner.MMC started gold bonding wire production in China in 2002. The firm is the only Japanese firm to build the integrated production system at the local spot. MMC has aimed to improve the operation rate more at MMC Electronics Hangzhou. Tanaka Denshi Kogyo has sought the new business step to cover the users which shift the domestic operations and expand their production in China.MMC and Tanaka Denshi Kogyo expect the JV contributes to the reduction of production costs and stronger sales performance in Chinese market which could grow significantly in the future.