The world’s major contract chipmakers are expected to boost mature process technology capacity by 6 percent annually next year, with the lion’s share of the new capacity from Chinese chipmakers thanks to a mild recovery in demand for electronics and chips, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday.
However, global economic uncertainty and concerns about China’s economic slowdown would discourage demand for mature node process technologies, limiting order visibility to about three months, the Taipei-based researcher said.
A moderate pickup in demand for chips used in PCs, smartphones and cars would lift the utilization of mature technology equipment to above 75 percent next year, TrendForce said.
Photo: Bloomberg
That means price pressure would persist throughout next year, it said.
With new capacity next year, Chinese chipmakers would account for 25 percent of the mature node process technology capacity operated by the world’s top 10 contract chipmakers, a new high, it said.
A major portion of the new capacity would be 28-nanometer and 22-nanometer technologies, it said.
China’s biggest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯國際), is to ramp up production of 40-nanometer and 28-nanometer technology at its fab in Jingcheng, and 110-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips at its Oriental fab, TrendForce said.
Huahong Group (華虹) has two fabs that are to enter production next year, it said.
Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (晶合集成) plans to have its N1A3 fab start producing chips on 55-nanometer and 28-nanometer technology, TrendForce said.
Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a majority-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto Prefecture, is to ramp up production of chips made on 12-nanometer, 16-nanometer, 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer technologies, TrendForce said.
TSMC earlier this month said that JASM’s first Kumamoto fab is to enter mass production this quarter and construction work for a second one is to begin early next year.
As 28-nanometer technology is used in a wide range of applications, there is little chance that the surplus would stretch into a medium-term or long-term issue, TrendForce said.
Moreover, geopolitical tensions have stimulated demand outside China, it said.
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) is setting a good example, TrendForce said.
Vanguard plans to build its first 12-inch fab in Singapore later this year through a joint venture, VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Pte, with NXP Semiconductor NV to deploy mature process technologies, TrendForce said.
Additionally, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) plans to boost capacity at its Singapore fab to meet customer demand, TrendForce said.
UMC in July told investors that it expected the new capacity from the fab to increase significantly in 2026.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
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The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
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