SMIC leads wafer foundries in slashing capex budgets for 2009
Claire Sung, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 10 February 2009]
Semiconductor equipment makers have expressed concerns over huge capex cuts at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). SMIC has lead the way having recently announced a 73% capex reduction for 2009, while others are expected to lower their spending in the range of 35-47%.
SMIC recently said that its capital expenditure for 2009 will be reduced to US$190 million, down from US$700 million last year.
UMC announced at an investors conference today (Feb 10) that its capex budget for 2009 will not exceed the US$400 million mark, while market watchers estimate that capital spending will reach only US$150 million, far short of the company's estimate.
TSMC CEO Rick Tsai said at an earlier press conference that the company intends to lower its 2009 capex by 20%. But market watchers have cited company sources as saying that, internally, company's capex budget is set at US$1 billion for this year, down 47% from 2008.
Meanwhile, Chartered's latest annual report stated that the company is looking to slash its capital spending to US$375 million for 2009, a 35% decrease from the previous year's US$575 million.
According to Gartner Dataquest, worldwide semiconductor equipment spending is on pace to slide 34.1% in 2009. iSuppli has also delivered a negative forecast regarding global spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment for this year, which will mark the lowest spending levels since 2003.
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