September 11, 2007 — China now counts over 600 nanotechnology companies, 1500 sensor manufacturers, 60 biochip companies, and 150 fabless design houses, according to a new market research report by the German firm enablingMNT. The study says that the Chinese MEMS/MST (microsystems technology) industry seems to prioritize the semiconductor, automotive, and telecommunications markets, but also is addressing the medical, industrial, and consumer markets. The analysis identifies two strong market drivers:
1. foreign companies starting joint ventures or subsidiaries
2. national and regional government investment.
The major areas of interest to those investing companies are manufacturing equipment and components/sensor fabrication. In the later group tire pressure sensors are especially of interest.
While the existence of organisations developing manufacturing equipment for microsystems as well as an upcoming service industry (e.g. foundries and design houses) are preparing China for future growth, the supply chain is still rather incomplete. Politics do not really encourage the start-up of small and flexible technology-oriented companies in China, thus there remain interesting niches for foreign companies to exploit.
The enablingMNT report “MST/MEMS Activities in China – Industry and Key Research Centres” provides a detailed overview of this growing segment of the MST/MEMS community with profiles of the most important stakeholders. It has been published by the enablingMNT team in collaboration with Shanghai Titan Consulting.