Southeast Asia Semiconductor Industry Poised for Strong Growth in 2010

With strong growth in the semiconductor, displays, and photovoltaic industries forecast for 2010 and beyond, the industry will gather at the SEMICON Singapore 2010 show to see new products, understand new technologies, and find new opportunities.

According to research by SEMI, the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic and display industries, the Southeast Asia materials industry serving semiconductors, displays and photovoltaics will grow in 2010 to about $7.09 billion, making it the third largest market after Japan and North America. The Southeast Asia semiconductor capital equipment market, which decreased by 46 percent in 2009, is expected to grow 65 percent to $2.31 billion in that same time.

Terry Tsao, President of SEMI Taiwan and Southeast Asia, said, “At SEMI, we believe that the region is in economic recovery and positioning itself well for the next growth cycle. Traditionally, Southeast Asia is the leading hub for semiconductor final assembly and test. However, recent investments in wafer fabs have transformed the region into a major player in front-end manufacturing as well.”

Another semiconductor industry that is doing well is photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing. Globally, the PV market more than recovered in Q3’09; in fact, it reached new highs in quarterly revenues for some layers of the supply chain. In addition, the weak seasonality that many analysts predicted from December through March of 2010 is no longer expected, price reductions are slowing, margins are projected to increase, and SEMI predicts installations will rise by 51 percent in 2010 globally. Southeast Asia is also part of this growth with several new PV manufacturing facilities in both Singapore and Malaysia coming online in 2010 and beyond. To ramp these facilities to full production, the new plants will be searching for new and cost effective local suppliers and service providers.

SEMI believes that while the economy has turned the corner and the semiconductor industry on the whole is poised for strong growth, the entire semiconductor supply chain is not ready for what could be a lengthy period of continued growth. After a year of falling revenue, downsizing, and cost cutting measures, these companies may not be in the position to obtain funding quickly enough for business expansion, product innovation and human capital investments.

With this in mind, SEMI said it aims to bring together industry leaders to showcase new technologies and products that will answer market demands at this year’s SEMICON 2010 event in May, setting the stage for synergies and powerful partnerships amongst industry players.

“We are encouraged by the fact that a significant majority of the exhibition floor space is already filled, indicating that the industry on the whole has turned the corner. Now, opportunities abound for those who have weathered the economic downturn and emerged stronger than before,” enthused Terry.

SEMICON Singapore 2010 will be held at Suntec Singapore Convention Center, 19-21 May 2010.

www.semiconsingapore.org.