SINGAPORE, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Siltronic AG and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Thursday opened their joint venture of 300 mm silicon wafers plant in Singapore.

    The one-billion-U.S. dollar Siltronic Samsung Wafer Pte. Ltd will manufacture wafers of 300 mm in diameter, currently the most advanced and largest diameter silicon wafers available for commercial mass production. It aims to reach a monthly capacity of300,000 by 2010.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony, Oh-Hyun Kwon, president of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business division, said the 300 mm segment is undergoing rapid growth.

    Siltronic Chief Executive Officer Wilhelm Sittenthaler said, "Today's commissioning is a key milestone in further expanding our presence on Asia's growth markets."

    The long-term prospect for the semiconductor industry remains bright, said Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the opening ceremony.

    "The convergence of electronics, communications and entertainment is stimulating growth in new products, and generating a plethora of new uses for silicon chips and semi-conductors," he said.

    The prime minister added that Singapore has positioned itself to take full advantage of these industry trends, and intends to remain a major manufacturing location in Asia for electronics and semiconductors.

    "As a small city state, we cannot always offer the lowest absolute costs, or provide land to semiconductor firms as cheaply as other locations in the world," he said. "But we will do our best to deliver cost-effective solutions with a compelling value proposition," he added.

    He noted that the government continues to help semiconductor companies grow their operations and reap economies of scale, and grow the country's research and development (R&D) capabilities to help companies stay at the cutting-edge of new technologies.

    He added that the government continues to offer an open and supportive environment for businesses to implement ventures and projects speedily and efficiently.