Japans foreign market share up

02/01/1998

Japan`s foreign market share up

Foreign share of the Japanese chip market rose 3.2 percentage points to a record high of 35.8%, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). American and other non-Japanese semiconductor-producing nations continued to make inroads into Japan`s market during 2Q97, up from 32.6% recorded in 1Q97. According to SIA president George Scalise, the increase reflects the value of cooperative relationships between foreign semiconductor makers and their Japanese customers over the past few years. The US and Japan had signed semiconductor agreements in 1986, 1991, and 1996.

Tokyo Electron Ltd. expects to add another 130 billion yen ($1.1 billion) to its revenues with plans to build a second coater/developer equipment manufacturing facility in Kumamoto, Kyushu Island, Japan. The new 7.4 billion ($60.9 million) facility is expected to come online this year with an initial capacity of 400 units/year, mainly dedicated to 300-mm applications. With an initial workforce of about 320, the facility is expected to generate about 54 billion yen ($444 million) in revenues the first year of operations. When volume production is reached, full capacity will be 1000 units/year with 1000 employees.

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has broken ground on a new semiconductor park within the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park in Taiwan. Officials envision spending NT$500 billion ($15.8 billion) in the park over the next 10 years to build six fabs on a 40-hectare complex, said a Central News Agency report. The park will employ 8000 people with five of the fabs producing over 20,000, 300-mm wafers/month, and one mega-fab producing 50,000, 200-mm wafers/month.

MEMC Electronic Materials, St. Peters, MO, has officially opened its China-based joint venture facility with China Sijia Semiconductor Materials Corp. (CSMC), and is planning a ramp-up to full production capacity of 15 million in.2 during the 4Q. The facility, known as MEMC-CSMC Electronic Materials Ltd., is 60% owned by MEMC, and 40% by CSMC.