China-based IC foundry SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International) has launched operation at its 8-inch wafer fab in Shenzhen, the first IC production line in southern China, reported Commercial Times on December 19. The fab will focus on production of chips for graphic sensors, logic circuits, and power management ICs while simultaneously meets the strong growth in mobile devices and IoT (Internet of Things) applications. The fab will churn out 10,000 wafers per month by year end before doubling its production capacity by end-2015.

In related news, SMIC announced that it has successfully launched mass production of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 processors on December 18, marking a milestone of achievement in the company's development of 28-nm process technology.