The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) yesterday revised upward its growth forecast for Taiwan’s chip industry, expecting production value to increase 18 percent to NT$3.81 trillion (US$136.01 billion) this year from NT$3.22 trillion last year.
In March, it estimated a rise of 8.6 percent to NT$3.5 trillion.
Buoyed by MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the latest forecast would mean that local IC companies are to outgrow the global semiconductor industry’s 10.9 percent growth, the institute said.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, boosting demand for chips used in 5G devices, notebook computers and vehicles.
Production value at Taiwanese IC companies rose to NT$904.7 billion in the first quarter, surpassing ITRI’s estimate of NT$723.8 billion.
“MediaTek and TSMC have performed way better than we expected,” ITRI analyst Jerry Peng (彭茂榮) said in an e-mail to the Taipei Times.
Revenue at MediaTek, the world’s biggest 5G handset chip designer, soared 77.5 percent year-on-year to NT$108.03 billion in the first quarter, indicating 40 percent growth for the whole of this year, it said.
TSMC’s first-quarter revenue rose 17.6 percent annually to NT$262.41 billion, with expected growth of about 20 percent this year, TSMC said.
Peng said he adjusted his output growth forecast for local chip designers to 30.5 percent annually this year, compared with a previous estimate of 10.9 percent.
Production value of local chipmakers is expected to increase 14.8 percent to NT$2.09 trillion this year, with the fastest growth of 32.7 percent by memorychip makers, he said.
Three months ago, ITRI estimated that chipmakers’ production value would grow 8 percent and memorychip makers’ output 4 percent this year.
DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) has said that the memorychip industry is entering a new supercycle.
Supply is expected to be tight throughout this year, Nanya Technology said.
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