Chinese semiconductor manufacturers are on course to spend $12 billion on fabrication equipment annually, according to a new report.
Semi, the industry association and provider of electronics market research, says the opportunities in China’s integrated circuits market are “expanding dramatically”.
Semi’s new China IC Industry Outlook Report also notes that China has an increasing presence in the global semiconductor manufacturing supply chain.
China is the largest consumer of semiconductors in the world, but it currently relies mainly on semiconductor imports to drive its growth.
Policies and investment funds are now in place to further advance the progress of indigenous suppliers in China throughout the entire semiconductor supply chain, says Semi.
It adds that this shift in policy and related initiatives have created widespread interest in the challenges and opportunities in China.
With at least 15 new fab projects under way or announced in China in 2017, Semi says “spending on semiconductor fab equipment is forecast to surge to more than $12 billion, annually, by 2018”.
As a result, China is projected to be the top spending region in fab equipment by 2019, and is likely to approach record all-time levels for annual spending for a single region.
Semi says its report covers “the full spectrum” of the China IC industry within the context of the global semiconductor industry.
The report specifically details semiconductor fab investment in China, as well as the supply chain for domestic equipment and material suppliers.
In a separate report, Semi says North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $2.2 billion in billings worldwide in August 2017.
Semi says its organisation has 2,000 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide.
