Taiwan to buy one-fourth of world's chip gear in 2000
By Mark LaPedus
Semiconductor Business News
(09/13/00, 09:15:58 AM EDT)
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan is the place to be for suppliers of semiconductor equipment, as the island's chip makers are projected to procure nearly one-quarter of the world's production gear in 2000.
In total, Taiwan's chip makers are expected to spend a staggering $8.9 billion on wafer-fab equipment in 2000, up 98% from $4.5 billion in 1999, according to new figures released here today by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group, based in San Jose.
In other words, Taiwan alone will represent 22% of the world's total production-equipment expenditures in 2000, up from 18% in 1999, according to SEMI, which released its figures during the first day of the Semicon Taiwan trade show in Taipei.
But an even more amazing fact is that Taiwan only represented 1% of the world's total fab-equipment expenditures in 1990. That was a time when the island's chip makers were just barely getting off the ground.
"Taiwan has become the world's second largest buyer of capital equipment," said Stanley Myers, president and chief executive of SEMI, in a speech at the opening ceremonies of the Semicon Taiwan trade show today. Taiwan trails only North American in terms of total production-equipment expenditures, Myers said.
"The Taiwan equipment market grew 187% last year," he said. "That's faster than any region in the world."
And the island's chip makers are buying the most advanced tools. "I think Taiwan is developing 0.13-micron process technology, and is ready to deliver 0.15-micron technology," said David Wang, senior vice president of Applied Materials Inc., in a press event at Semicon Taiwan.
"In 2001, it is our feeling that [a large percentage] of 300-mm wafers will come from Taiwan--not in other regions," Wang said.
At present, there is still huge demand for tools that support 8-in. wafers, said Motoharu Kuze, president of Nikon Inc.'s Taiwan subsidiary, Nikon Precision Taiwan Ltd., based in Hsinchu.
"Business is strong in Taiwan," Kuze said in an interview with SBN. "We are seeing strong demand for both deep-UV and i-line steppers here. Our business is expected to increase 1.6 to 1.7 times over last year," he said.
The automated test equipment market is also strong. In fact, the total ATE market in Taiwan is projected to jump from $600 million to $700 million in 1999, to over $1 billion in 2000, said S.I. Wei, field operations manager for Teradyne Taiwan Ltd., which is based in Hsinchu.
"There are projections that the ATE market in Taiwan will double in 2000 over 1999. I am not sure about that, but it may reach $1 billion,'' Wei said.
Indeed, the local market remains robust. In the first half of 2000, Taiwan in total spent $4.76 billion in chip-making equipment, up 187% from the like period a year ago, SEMI said.
In comparison, Japan was second in Asia in terms of equipment procurement. In total, Japan spent $2.9 billion in the first half of 2000, compared to $2.2 billion in the like period a year ago, SEMI said.
Korea spent $2 billion in the first half of 2000, compared to $930 million in the year ago period, SEMI added. |
