Global semiconductor equipment sales this year are to grow 9.7 percent annually to a new record high, with China overtaking Taiwan as the world’s second-biggest equipment market for the first time, SEMI said in report yesterday.
Semiconductor equipment sales worldwide are to rise from US$56.62 billion last year to US$62.09 billion this year, the semiconductor industry association said.
China is to splurge 55.7 percent more on semiconductor equipment to US$12.82 billion this year, surpassing Taiwan’s US$10.11 billion, it added.
Last year, the Chinese market was valued at US$8.23 billion.
The Taiwanese market is to dwindle 12 percent from last year’s US$11.49 billion, falling to third, the report said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, expects its capital spending on new equipment this year to remain little changed at US$10 billion to US$10.5 billion, primarily on advanced 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer technologies, compared with last year’s US$10.86 billion, it said.
South Korea defended its top ranking, even though equipment spending is to slide 13.2 percent from US$17.95 billion last year to US$17.11 billion, it added.
The Japanese market is to report the second-fastest growth rate of 32.5 percent year-on-year to US$8.6 billion from US$6.49 billion last year, SEMI said.
The North American market is to contract 32.51 percent from US$5.59 billion last year to US$5.29 billion, it said.
Global semiconductor equipment sales are to slide 4.21 percent to US$59.58 billion next year, SEMI said.
That would be the first annual decline since 2015, when semiconductor equipment sales dipped to US$36.53 billion from US$37.5 billion in 2014.
The top three rankings are to be unchanged next year, SEMI said, adding that the South Korean market is to dip 22.85 percent to US$13.2 billion and the Chinese market is to fall 2.18 percent to US$12.54 billion.
The Taiwanese market is to rebound 17.11 percent to US$11.81 billion, while the Japanese and North American markets are to increase 3.37 percent and 1.32 percent to US$8.89 billion and US$5.36 billion respectively, it said.
Global semiconductor equipment sales are to regain an annual growth of 22.77 percent in 2020 to US$71.92 billion, hitting another record high, the association said.
The South Korean market is to grow at the fastest rate of 38.71 percent year-on-year to US$18.31 billion in 2020, followed by China’s 36 percent and Southeast Asia’s 13.87 percent, it said, adding that Taiwan would rise 5.76 percent to US$12.49 billion.
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