Despite a slowing global economy, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is expected to pass its South Korean counterpart to regain the second spot in global production value this year, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) said yesterday.
The output value of the local semiconductor industry is likely to expand 0.9 percent to NT$2.64 trillion (US$85.7 billion), up from NT$2.62 trillion last year, ITRI’s Hsinchu-based Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center said.
On the basis of those figures, the Taiwanese industry is expected to retake second place in global production value with a market share of 20 percent, second only to the US, which enjoys a 40 percent market share, the center said.
However, the center forecast that the world’s global chip sector would slide 20 percent this year, saying that would help Intel Corp pass Samsung Electronics Co to become the world’s top semiconductor maker, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) ranked third.
The global semiconductor market will contract 3 percent this year to US$454.5 billion, due to the slowing world economy, center manager Jerry Peng (彭茂榮) said.
The semiconductor industry covers the chip design, manufacturing and packaging/testing segments, with the manufacturing segment accounting for more than half of the industry’s total production value.
The chip manufacturing sector comprises the foundry and memorychip segments.
The output of the nation’s chip manufacturing and packaging/testing segments is No. 1 in the world, accounting for 70 percent and 50 percent of the global market respectively, Peng said.
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