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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kirk © who wrote (37068)	8/29/2000 9:31:54 PM
From: Gottfried	Respond to of 70976

Kirk, sheesh - you actually read the inside? G. [end]

To: Kirk © who wrote (37068)	8/30/2000 9:09:18 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Global Production Capacity of Large TFT-LCDs Rising Sharply August 30, 2000 (TOKYO) -- Worldwide production capacity of large thin-film transistor liquid-crystal (TFT-LCD) display modules is expected to reach 300,700 sq. meters a month in the third quarter of 2000, up 44 percent from a year earlier. The production capacity will likely continue to increase to 480,000 sq. meters a month a year later, in the third quarter of 2001, and to more than 500,000 sq. meters a month in the fourth quarter of 2001, Nikkei Market Access said. Large TFT-LCDs defined here are those bigger than 10.4 in. Taiwan's display makers will likely record the largest growth in the world, to make 139,000 sq. meters a month of the product in the third quarter of 2001, up a projected 167 percent on a year-on-year basis. Taiwan's production level will likely increase 174 percent to 160,000 sq. meters in the fourth quarter of the year. This will put Taiwan in a position similar to that of Korea, in terms of production capacity. In this quarter, Taiwan's makers will surpass the level of 30 percent in world market share of large TFT-LCDs. In the second quarter of 1999, Taiwan-based makers began to operate production lines for large-size TFT-LCD modules. In the year since their market entry, the production capacity of the Taiwan-based makers has gained a market share of 17 percent, as of the third quarter of 2000. The top maker in Taiwan, and the world's seventh largest is Acer Display Technologies Inc. (ADT), with a capacity of 15,000 sq. meters a month. ADT aims to bring its second large production line into operation in 2001. Its total production capacity will be 32,400 sq. meters a month in the third quarter of 2001, ranking it as the sixth largest producer in the world market. As of the third quarter of 2000, two Taiwan-based producers, ADT and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (CPT), are positioned among the world's top ten makers in terms of production capacity for large-size TFT-LCD modules. Two other Taiwan-based makers, Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. and HannStar Display Corp., will make the grade too. Taiwan will thus have four makers ranked among the global top ten makers of TFT-LCDs in the third quarter of 2001. Graph: Production of large TFT-LCD modules (in 1,000sqm/month for production capacity, in percentage for year-on-year comparison) * Figures from 3Q2000 onwards are estimates. * The production capacity described here is that of large-size TFT-LCD module production lines in terms of consumption of mother glass units. Excluded are production lines at which 80 percent or more of production centers on small and midsize TFT-LCD modules of a size smaller than 10-in. (Mayumi Amagai, Nikkei Market Access)

To: Kirk © who wrote (37068)	8/30/2000 3:14:10 PM
From: Donald B. Fuller	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Note the headline - I think 2001-2002 Headline was a typo Here is the article from Semibiznews.com... TSMC says it's sold out of foundry capacity for 2000 and 2001 By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (08/29/00, 07:02:34 PM EDT) SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) here today disclosed that the company is already sold out of its worldwide wafer-foundry capacity for both 2000 and 2001, with demand remaining robust at least until 2003. [An earlier version of this story carried a headline that erroneously said TSMC was sold out of foundry capacity in 2002.] "Demand is outstripping supply [in the foundry business]," said Edward Ross, president of TMSC's U.S. subsidiary, TSMC North America, at a panel discussion at the Taiwan Semiconductor Day conference here. The conference is a one-day event sponsored by the Taiwan government and CMP Media, the parent company of SBN. "In the short term, I don't see anything on the horizon that will slow [the foundry business] down," said Ross, who is based in San Jose. In fact, business is so good that TSMC is fully booked at least until the end of 2001, Ross said. "The demand for 2001 is greater than our capacity," he said in an interview with SBN. "We've allocated our capacity [for 2000]. In 2001, our capacity has been allocated. In 2001, we're already sold out." The company's disclosure comes to no surprise to industry observers and analysts. With the general trend towards outsourcing in the semiconductor industry, foundry vendors have been scrambling to meet huge OEM demand since the beginning of last year. Other pure-play foundry vendors, including Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. and Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp., are also reporting robust demand for their respective services. Foundry companies, in fact, are riding a huge wave. In total, the worldwide demand for 8-inch wafers is expected to jump from 10.267 million units in 2000 to 12.3 million units in 2001, according to estimates from Dataquest Inc. of San Jose. "The foundry business is one of the fastest growing industries in the electronics market," Ross said in a presentation about Taiwan's foundry industry at the conference. "At this point, we don't see a change in terms of supply and demand. People are saying that that we could see [a capacity shortage] for the next three years." To meet demand, TSMC is ramping up its fab capacity at a frenetic pace. The company will boost its total production of 8-inch wafers from 3.4 million units in 2000, to 4.7 million units in 2001. By 2001, in fact, TSMC claims it will be the world's largest IC company in terms of total wafer capacity, surpassing the likes of Hyundai, Hitachi, Intel, Toshiba, NEC, STMicroelectronics, Samsung, and others.