[March 15, Xinhua News]Mr. Julong, who is the global vice president of the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute International (SEMI), an international semiconductor industry organization, and the president of SEMI China, recently announced that At a press conference for “SEMICON/FPD China 2024,” the world’s largest semiconductor exhibition that will open in Shanghai on Sunday, he announced that the global semiconductor industry is expected to turn around from the slump and head toward recovery this year, indicating that the Chinese market remains He emphasized that it is the world’s largest semiconductor market. 1,100 companies from Japan and abroad are expected to exhibit at Semicon/FPD China 2024, which also reflects the attractiveness and importance of the Chinese semiconductor market.

According to Ju, the global semiconductor industry entered a recession in 2023, and the market size shrank by about 11%. There is now a widespread view that the economy will start to recover in 2024. SEMI predicts that the market size will grow by more than 10% in 2024, approaching $600 billion ($1 = approximately 147 yen). Rapid development of new energy vehicles (NEVs), 5th generation mobile communication systems (5G)/6th generation mobile communication systems (6G), autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI) generated content (AIGC), AI-equipped personal computers (AIPC), etc. Due to these developments, market demand is increasing day by day, and global semiconductor sales are expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030.

Looking at each segment of the market, in the wafer manufacturing field, the world’s monthly wafer production capacity (WPM) increased by 5.5% to 29.6 million wafers in 2023, but it increased by 6.4 million wafers in 2024. %, and is expected to exceed the 30 million mark for the first time. In the equipment field, the global market fell slightly by 2% to $100 billion in 2023, but is predicted to return to positive growth in 2024. In 2025, equipment sales will reach a record $124 billion due to increased production capacity, new wafer fab projects, and high demand for advanced front-end and back-end technologies and solutions. In the materials field, the global semiconductor materials market also showed a shrinking trend in 2023, but sales in 2024 are expected to recover to 2022 levels.

Mr. Ju said, “The global semiconductor industry is recovering from the downturn, and the pace of growth will not slow down.The Chinese market remains the world’s largest semiconductor market, and although it faces several challenges, we I’m optimistic,” he said. (c)Xinhua News/AFPBB News