Revenue at the world’s major chip testers and packagers is expected to contract in the second half of this year due to the US-China trade dispute and the COVID-19 pandemic, although they had a good start to the year on the back of increased demand for chips used in 5G applications, artificial intelligence devices and smartphones, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday.
The effects of the pandemic — which halted demand for end devices — on growth momentum in the outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) industry might start this quarter, the Taipei-based researcher said in a report.
As tensions mount once again between Washington and Beijing, the industry faces immense market challenges, it said.
In the first quarter, the top 10 OSAT companies reported that combined revenue expanded 25.3 percent annually to US$5.9 billion, a TrendForce tally showed.
ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) defended its top position with revenue of US$1.36 billion, up 21.4 percent from a year earlier, while Amkor Technology Inc retained second place, with its revenue jumping 28.8 percent to US$1.15 billion, the data showed.
Revenue at Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密), a subsidiary of ASE and the world’s No. 4 OSAT service provider, rose 34.4 percent to US$806 million.
SPIL narrowed the gap to the world’s No. 3 firm, China’s JCET Group (江蘇長電), whose revenue rose 22.7 percent to US$818 million last quarter, while Powertech Technology Inc (力成) ranked fifth, with revenue surging 33.1 percent to US$624 million, the data showed.
King Yuan Electronics Co (京元電), the world’s No. 8 OSAT company, posted the steepest increase in revenue among the top 10 OSAT firms last quarter, up 35.9 percent to US$232 million on the back of demand for 5G smartphones base stations, CMOS image sensors and server chips, TrendForce added.
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