February 17, 2004 – STMicroelectronics says that by 2008, China will be the biggest semiconductor market in the world with projected revenue of $100 billion, encompassing 35% of overall sales, according to Dow Jones.

Company VP Alain Dutheil, speaking at an industry conference in Paris, based its forecast on current relocation of electronics markets to China, which together with the Asia-Pacific region represented 58% of capital spending in 2003.

Hourly direct manufacturing costs of labor in China, however, represented just 6% of labor costs in the US, he said.