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To: Stoctrash who wrote (2323)	7/22/1999 2:38:00 PM
From: tech101	Respond to of 6531

Orders for Chip-Assembly Services Increase in Korea A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted 10:30 a.m. EST/7:30 a.m., PST, 7/22/99 By B. H. Seo SEOUL ( ChipWire/EET) -- Orders for semiconductor packaging and test continue to surge in South Korea, indicating that the country's chip exports are beginning to recover from an industry-wide downturn. IC assemblers such as Korea Signetics and ChipPAC Korea have recently reported large increases in overseas orders for IC packaging, testing and other post-processing steps. Orders have surged to the point where they exceed the companies' current production capacity. Observers said the uptick is being driven by wired and wireless communications, regional increases in PC production and an overall rise in semiconductor output. Declining investment last year in processing capacity is also seen as contributing to the recent inability of some companies to keep up with current demand. Moreover, several major chip makers with in-house packaging and testing operations are beginning to outsource the work to companies like Korea Signetics that specialize in the service. In this way, chip makers can avoid the costly investment in packaging and testing facilities. Worried about a lack of capacity as chip exports increase, some chip makers are even booking package and test facilities one to two years in advance. Hence, industry analysts predict packaging and testing firms should remain busy for the foreseeable future. Right now, packaging and testing specialists are running their production lines 24 hours a day, seven days a week while at the same time expanding their production facilities. Anam Semiconductor Co., a leading packaging and test firm, said it received orders for 640 million packaged units in June. That's a record for the company, and represents a 50% rise in packaging orders over the same period last year. Test orders also rose sharply over June 1998 levels, Anam said. Korea Signetics said semiconductor packaging sales had increased 40% by February. ChipPAC Korea, recently sold by Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. to U.S. investors, said packaging orders have doubled since the beginning of the year, prompting the company to consider expanding its production facilities. Taiwanese packaging companies with operations here also said orders were on the rise. Taiwan's ASE, which recently took over Motorola Korea's Paju plant and converted it to packaging operations, said the plant's capacity cannot keep up with the flood of orders from semiconductor customers. seminews.com Anam Semiconductor is the exclusive sub-contractor of Amkor Technology (AMKR) - the World's largest independent chip assembly/testing company in Pennsylvania, US with about 30-35% market share and revenue of $1.6 billion. Taiwan's ASE (ASTSF) is the second largest located in Taiwan with a 10-15% of the chip P/T outsourcing business market share.