The production value of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry for this year is expected to rise 6 percent from a year earlier on the back of solid growth in the foundry and integrated circuit design businesses, the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) said on Thursday.
MIC analyst Chris Hung (洪春暉) said the output value of the local IC sector was expected to total NT$1.54 trillion (US$51.4 billion) this year, up 6 percent from last year.
Hung said the estimated output growth in Taiwan was higher than the expected increase in output for the global IC industry, which is likely to see its production value for this year increase about 2.2 percent year-on-year to US$306.1 billion.
Hung said the global IC market bottomed out in the first quarter of this year and is expected to perform better in the second half. He added that the world’s semiconductor sector was likely to improve from quarter to quarter in the second half.
In Taiwan, the semiconductor sector has made a strong rebound in the second quarter as buyers restocked their inventories, Hung said, adding that the local foundry and IC design segments are expected to enjoy relatively strong growth in the second half.
Hung said output value of the local foundry business for this year was expected to rise 15 percent from a year earlier to NT$607.9 billion.
Chips on the 40 nanometer and advanced 28 nanometer processes are expected to account for about 40 percent of the total output of the local foundry business by the end of this year, up from almost 30 percent anticipated in the second quarter, Hung said.
However, Hung said the lingering debt problems in the eurozone may cast uncertainty over the foundry business and compromise its growth in shipments.
Production value of the local IC design business for this year is expected to rise 4.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$415.2 billion, Hung said.
The analyst said the local IC design segment was expected to benefit from rising demand for chips used in low-end smartphones from China, while growth in demand for chips used in TVs and top set boxes was likely to push sales higher for the segment.
The nation’s communications industry production will reach US$72.4 billion this year, marking an 18.7 percent year-on-yearn growth, thanks to strong demand for smartphones, MIC analyst Welber Chang (張奇) said on Thursday.
The estimated 18.7 percent growth is higher than the projected 15.2 percent growth for the global communications industry this year, Chang said.
Global smartphone production is projected to reach NT$1.47 trillion this year, a 23 percent increase from last year, he said.
He further said mobile communications devices account for 75 percent of Taiwan’s overall communications industry production.
Strong demand for smartphones has squeezed the market for Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, he said.
The production value of GPS devices is estimated to decrease by 32 percent this year on competition from smartphones and on waning consumer sentiment in the European market, he added.
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