Edited by JOHN W. McCURRY john.mccurry bounce@conway.com Infineon Inaugurates $1B Malaysian Fab G ermany-based semiconductor specialist Infineon has opened its first Asia-based front-end fab in Kulim, Malaysia, a US$1-billion investment in a power plant for industrial and automotive chips. When the plant reaches full capacity, it will employ about 1,700. Infineon's front-end fab in Kulim High-Tech Park has a capacity of about 100,000 200-mm wafer starts per month.    During official opening ceremonies in September, Infineon President and CEO Dr. Wolfgang Ziebert said the facility will target the growing world demand for more efficient power controls for industrial, computing and household appliances by enabling variable speed-controlled electric motors with higher performance. Infineon began ramping up production in August.    Kulim is part of Infineon's Power fab network, which includes development and production facilities in Villach, Austria, and Regensburg, Germany. The core activity of the Kulim fab is to produce power semiconductors which enable efficient energy management, such as chips for industrial applications and in cars.    Analysis from IMS Research indicates Infineon has been the global market leader for power semiconductors for the last three years, with 9.3 percent of the $11.35-billion market by revenue in 2005.