MediaTek Inc (聯發科), a major supplier of handset chips to Chinese brands, including Xiaomi Corp (小米), will see its ranking jump five notches to No. 10 in the global semiconductor industry this year due to a 57 percent surge in revenue, market researcher IHS Technology said in a report.
That will make MediaTek the first Taiwanese chip company to break into the top 10 list of the world’s semiconductor suppliers, overtaking Renesas Electronics, IHS said.
Last year, the Hsinchu-based chip designer ranked 15th.
MediaTek will see its revenue soar 57.5 percent to US$7.19 billion this year, compared with last year’s NT$4.57 billion, benefiting from significant acquisitions, IHS forecast.
In February, MediaTek completed the acquisition of MStar Semiconductor Inc (晨星半導體), the world’s largest supplier of chips used in flat-panel TVs, in a deal worth NT$115 billion.
Among the world’s top 20 semiconductor suppliers, MediaTek and Avago Technologies are expected to post the largest revenue growth and rise in the rankings this year, IHS said.
Based on MediaTek’s forecast, revenue this year is expected to grow 59 percent at best to NT$216.21 billion (US$6.8 billion), compared with last year’s NT$136.06 billion.
The chipmaker attributed the projected growth to significant demand from China, primarily for its chips to be used in smartphones.
The rapid uptake of long-term evolution (LTE) technology in China will help lift MediaTek’s LTE chip shipments to 100 million units, more than triple this year’s estimated 30 million units, the company said early this month.
“China’s replacement demand for 4G LTE smartphones is unexpectedly strong [this year],” MediaTek president Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) said, adding that he expects the growth momentum to extend into next year.
The top three semiconductor companies globally retained their positions, with Intel ranking first, followed by Samsung Electronics Co and Qualcomm Inc, according to IHS.
Global semiconductor revenue is expected to grow 9.4 percent to US$353.23 billion this year, compared with US$322.76 billion last year, IHS’ preliminary estimates show.
The growth marks the fastest expansion rate since the 33 percent boom of 2010, IHS said.
“This is the healthiest the semiconductor business has been in many years, not only in light of the overall growth, but also because of the broad-based nature of the market expansion,” IHS chief analyst Dale Ford said in the report.
Ford said the growth is driven by specific memory segments.
The combined revenue for DRAM and data flash memory is projected to rise about 20 percent year-on-year, the researcher said.
Geographically, the Asia-Pacific region is to lead the growth, with an expected annual growth of 12.5 percent in revenue this year, IHS said.
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