Taiwan took the top spot in global semiconductor equipment spending in the second quarter of this year, up from third place the previous quarter, with the country’s manufacturers keen to invest in expansion, global semiconductor trade association SEMI said on Wednesday.
Taiwanese firms spent US$6.68 billion buying semiconductor equipment from the April to June period, up 37 percent from a quarter earlier, SEMI data showed.
Second-quarter spending was also up 32 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Although the second quarter is traditionally a slow season in the global semiconductor industry, many Taiwanese firms poured funds into expanding production and upgrading technology to maintain a lead over industry peers, analysts said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, was one of the biggest investors in equipment to develop advanced processes, they said.
TSMC plans to spend about US$40 billion in capital expenditure this year as it is about to start using a 3 nanometer process this year, while it is also developing a more sophisticated 2 nanometer process.
As demand for TSMC’s 7 nanometer and 5 nanometer processes remain solid for emerging technologies such as high-performance computing devices, 5G applications and automotive electronics, TSMC needed more capacity, analysts said.
Full capacity utilization is expected to continue until the end of the year, TSMC said.
China spent US$6.56 billion buying semiconductor equipment in the second quarter, down 13 percent from the previous quarter, and also down 20 percent from a year earlier, to take the second spot, falling from first place in the first quarter, SEMI data showed.
Analysts said the fall was largely a result of a ban imposed by the US government on selling certain types of semiconductor equipment to China, while that country’s “zero COVID” policy also hurt demand.
South Korea placed third after buying US$5.78 billion worth of semiconductor equipment, up 12 percent from the previous quarter, but down 13 percent from a year earlier, falling from the second spot in the first quarter, the data showed.
In the second quarter, global semiconductor equipment spending totaled US$26.43 billion, up 7 percent from a quarter earlier and up 6 percent from a year earlier, SEMI said.
Because pure foundry operators such as TSMC are raising production capacity, semiconductor equipment spending is expected to grow this year, said SEMI Taiwan president Terry Tsao (曹世綸), who is also the group’s global chief marketing officer.
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