The production value of Taiwan’s IC sector next year is expected to see annual growth of more than 7 percent on the rising popularity of handheld devices, the Taiwan-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) said yesterday.
MIC research manager Chris Hung (洪春暉) said that worldwide demand for PCs is likely to stabilize next year as the world economy stages a rebound, boosting IC output.
Hung said output from Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is expected to total about NT$1.9 trillion (US$63.84 billion), up 7.8 percent from the forecasts for this year.
At the same time, Taiwan’s IC manufacturers could face fiercer-than-ever competition in the global market, in particular in the advanced 28-nanometer technology segment, driving down the prices of chips, he said.
An increasing number of Chinese firms are jumping into the market, while US-based Qualcomm Inc is expected to continue to be a threat to its Taiwanese counterparts, Hung said.
According to the MIC, production value of the world’s IC sector is expected to grow 3.8 percent next year, to US$310.4 billion.
However, Taiwanese firms look ready to maintain a competitive edge in terms of output growth.
This year, the output of Taiwan’s IC sector is expected to grow 13.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.76 trillion, outpacing the 2.4 percent growth rate of the global semiconductor industry to US$299 billion.
The production value of Taiwan’s IC design segment this year is expected to total NT$456.8 billion, up 8.9 percent from a year earlier.
Output of the local IC manufacturing segment for this year is expected to rise 19.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$927.8 billion, while output of the IC packaging and testing services segment could grow 7.3 percent to NT$373.1 billion.
Meanwhile, MIC said the production value of Taiwan’s communications device sector for next year is expected to rise 7 percent to NT$2.37 trillion.
Output of the local mobile communications segment is expected to total NT$1.56 trillion next year, up 6 percent from this year — a reflection of rising shipments to US-based Apple, Japan’s Sony, and major Chinese smartphone brands such as Xiaomi (小米), Huawei (華為) and Coolpad (酷派).
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