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Survey forecasts growth for PCB and IC sectors

The precision instrument manufacturing, integrated circuit (IC) design, semiconductor, printed circuit board (PCB) and lithium-ion battery sectors are the five of the nation's 200 industries that will see the greatest growth and investment opportunities, a new survey said yesterday.

"We expect [these industries] to cash in on the Vista effect as well as the heated-up demand for LCD TVs in 2008," said Chai Hwan-shin (柴煥欣), senior analyst with Money Weekly Magazine (理財周刊), one of the survey organizers.

The survey, conducted by China Credit Information Service Ltd (中華徵信所), said the manufacturing sector was still outperforming the service sector in terms of overall net profits, earnings per share and revenue growth even though the economy was becoming more service-oriented, which should produce better margins.

Among the nation's 77 manufacturing industries, the top five best performers, in particular, saw above-average profits in the past three years despite the poor economic situation, China Credit's editor-in-chief Liu Jen (劉任) said.

The precision instrument manufacturing sector should see sales growth of more than 15 percent next year after overcoming a three-year slowdown last year, Liu said.

The global market for industrial computers is expected to stabilize at US$800 million next year and precision instrument manufacturers have positioned themselves to repackage their products for bigger gains, Chai said.

Chai said gambling-related manufacturers such as Firich Enterprises Co (伍豐科技) will benefit from the Chinese market, where sports lottery sales are expected to jump from a forecasted 50 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion) last year to an estimated 130 billion yuan in 2010.

However, the precision sector is also facing a downside including a streamlined local market following the emigration of factories and competition from low-priced products made in China, he said.

Local IC designers have seen their sales growth rebound to a four-year high of 21.1 percent last year after hitting a record low of 3.8 percent in 2005.

"The IC design sector's outlook is very positive with an average 20.3 percent quarterly sales growth in the first three quarters this year," Liu said.

He said he's particularly upbeat about the PCB sector.

Chai said that opto-electric circuit boards and circuit boards for gaming machines will be the sector's niche products in the future.

Despite the possible slowdown in semiconductor output next year, local players are expected to see growth in the outsourcing market, Liu said.

However, he said the semiconductor market has gradually centered in China, whose market was valued at NT$2.4 trillion last year -- a 26 percent growth over 2005.

However, rising crude oil prices, the US subprime crisis and the likely burst of China's stock market bubble may pose challenges to the sector, Chai said.

As a result of high oil prices, solar wafer makers such as Sino-American Silicon Production Inc (中美晶) have seen great growth in the past 10 years and will continue to see solid momentum, Chai said.

Growing demand for cellphone and notebook batteries has also boosted the sector's growth, Liu said.
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