Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is set to grow 17.4 percent to NT$2.22 trillion (US$73.89 billion) in 2014, higher than the global average of 6.5 percent, according to Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association Aug. 19.
“The arrival of traditional peak seasons and continuous introduction of new high-tech products from international heavyweights should see an even better performance in the second half of the year,” a TSIA official said.
“This positive development is set to benefit Taiwan’s major semiconductor firms such as Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc., MediaTek Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.”
The latest TSIA statistics show that local sector Q2 output surged 14.8 percent to NT$551.2 billion, with all four subsectors posting double digit growth.
Integrated circuit manufacturing led the way at NT$288 billion, up 13.5 percent from a year ago, while IC design came second at NT$145.6 billion, an increase of 19.7 percent and the highest for all subsectors. IC packaging and testing services followed at NT$81.5 billion and NT$36.1 billion, respectively.
Based on forecasts by the Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center of state-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute, IC design will be the fastest growing subsector for the year at 21.2 percent, followed by IC manufacturing at 17.1 percent.
According to U.S.-based World Semiconductor Trade Statistics Inc., the Asia-Pacific semiconductor sales reached US$48.3 billion in Q2, up 10.5 percent from a year ago. The U.S. and Europe markets both gained 12.1 percent to US$16 billion and US$9.6 billion, respectively.
The global market is predicted to reach US$325 billion for 2014, largely driven by automobiles, smartphones and tablets. It will rise an additional 3.3 percent in 2015 and 4.3 percent in 2016. (SFC-JSM)
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