SHANGHAI, July 23, 2012 -- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981), one of the world's leading semiconductor foundries, is pleased to announce today an upward revision of its second quarter revenue and gross margin guidance for the three months ended June 30, 2012, which was originally released by SMIC in its results for the three months ended March 31, 2012 on May 10, 2012 (the "Original Guidance").

"Since the release of our original guidance, we have seen improvement on business from our customers, exceeding our earlier expectations. Therefore, we are now raising our second quarter 2012 revenue guidance to a sequential increase of 25% to 26%, from the original guidance of an increase of 19% to 21%. We are also raising our second quarter 2012 gross margin guidance to between 23% and 24% from the original guidance of between 19% and 22%. Furthermore, we see continued growth moving into the third quarter of this year," said Gareth Kung, Chief Financial Officer of SMIC.

About SMIC

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in Mainland China, providing integrated circuit (IC) foundry and technology services at 0.35-micron to 40-nanometer. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, SMIC has a 300mm wafer fabrication facility (fab) and three 200mm wafer fabs in its Shanghai mega-fab, two 300mm wafer fabs in its Beijing mega-fab, a 200mm wafer fab in Tianjin, and a 200mm fab under construction in Shenzhen. SMIC also has customer service and marketing offices in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Taiwan, and a representative office in Hong Kong. In addition, SMIC manages and operates a 300mm wafer fab in Wuhan owned by Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.

For more information, please visit www.smics.com