TapTechNews June 18th news, according to the forecast of TechInsights, the semiconductor industry in China is expected to increase its production capacity by 40% in the next five years. This surge is driven by rapid equipment procurement and strategic investment in semiconductor manufacturing facilities (fabs). According to TapTechNews' previous report, the purchase amount of semiconductor equipment in China in the first quarter of 2024 was 12.52 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 113%.
According to the survey data of TechInsights, China's total silicon production capacity increased from 310 million square inches in 2018 to 631 million square inches expected in 2024, and to 875 million square inches by 2029; the output value increased from 11 billion US dollars in 2018 to nearly 30 billion US dollars in 2023. At present, the capacity expansion is mainly concentrated in 12-inch wafer fabs, and only a small part of the capacity expansion is accounted for by 6-inch and 8-inch wafer fabs.
It is understood that the 12-inch wafer is larger than the 8-inch wafer, which can manufacture more chips on a single wafer, thereby improving production efficiency and output. And 12-inch wafer fabs usually adopt more advanced manufacturing processes to realize smaller feature sizes, thereby producing semiconductor products with higher performance and lower power consumption.
The report also mentioned that historically, a large part of Chinese semiconductors have been used for export. And now, most of the Chinese semiconductors are consumed domestically. Therefore, the issue of the allocation of new production capacity of semiconductors in the Chinese mainland is of great concern, and exports will inevitably lead to the price decline of the global wafer market, putting the product prices of other international manufacturers at a disadvantage.