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Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq:OLED) today announced the signing of long-term OLED material supply and license agreements with Samsung Display Co., Ltd. (SDC), a global display manufacturer. These agreements affirm that Universal Display will continue to supply its proprietary UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED materials and technology to Samsung Display for use in its OLED displays. The agreements are scheduled to run through December 31, 2022, and may be extended for an additional two-year period. Financial terms of the agreements have not been disclosed.

“We are pleased to announce the signing of these long-term agreements with our partner Samsung Display,” said Steven V. Abramson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Display Corporation. “Collaborating for over eighteen years, Samsung Display has been at the forefront of the OLED revolution with its vibrant, colorful, and brilliant displays. SDC’s ground-breaking innovation and manufacturing leadership are paving new pathways of growth in the display industry, including the advent of new form factors. As Samsung continues expanding its OLED product roadmap and investments, we look forward to supporting its advancements with our highly-efficient, high-performing proprietary OLED technologies and UniversalPHOLED materials.”

The 2018 FLEXI Awards today recognized groundbreaking accomplishments in the Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) sector in 2017. Presented at the opening session of the 17th annual 2018FLEX Conference and Exhibition, in Monterey, California, the awards spotlighted the following leaders in the categories of R&D Achievements, Product Innovation and Commercialization, Education Leadership and Industry Leadership.

Product Innovation – E Ink, creator of Dazzle, the world’s largest electronic paper installation, won a FLEXI for product design and ingenuity, and potential market adoption and revenue generation. Made from electrophoretic display technology, the programmable art installation adorns one side of San Diego International Airport’s new rental car center.

R&D Achievement – The Wearable Device for Dynamic Assessment of Hydration team – consisting of GE Global Research, UES, The University of Arizona, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Dublin City University and AFRL – won a FLEXI for developing a paper-based biofluid patch that collects sweat for human hydration index monitoring. Award criteria included research approach, originality and commercial potential for expanding the bounds of flexible or printed electronics.

Technology Leadership In Education – James Turner, research scientist at Binghamton University, won a FLEXI for outstanding leadership and attention to mentoring students during the development of an FHE electrocardiography (ECG) patch. Turner led a group of students through the development which included a multi-disciplinary approach as well as coordination with industry and several academic institutions to correlate reliability data, simulations and optimize design features of the revolutionary patch.

Industry Leadership – David Morton, formerly with the Army Research Laboratory, won a FLEXI for his dedication to building awareness of advanced flexible hybrid electronics in the broader field of electronics. Award criteria include outstanding leadership in public forums and contributions to industry associations.

Technology Champion – Robert Reuss, former program manager in the Microsystems Technology Office at DARPA, won a FLEXI for his extraordinary dedication to growing the flexible electronics industry, early recognition of the impact of large area electronics and strong contributions to helping build the FLEX Conference.

FLEXIs have been the industry’s premier award for distinguished organizations and individuals since 2009. See full list of awardees. The FLEXI Awards are sponsored by FlexTech, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, an organization dedicated to the success of the FHE sector. The 2018 FLEXI award ceremony was sponsored by SCREEN Holdings.

2018FLEX – February 12-15 in Monterey, California – spotlights FHE innovation drivers in smart medtech, smart transportation, smart manufacturing, smart data, Internet of Things (IoT) and consumer electronics.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, today announced the global semiconductor industry posted sales totaling $412.2 billion in 2017, the industry’s highest-ever annual sales and an increase of 21.6 percent compared to the 2016 total. Global sales for the month of December 2017 reached $38.0 billion, an increase of 22.5 percent over the December 2016 total and 0.8 percent more than the previous month’s total. Fourth-quarter sales of $114.0 billion were 22.5 percent higher than the total from the fourth quarter of 2016 and 5.7 percent more than the third quarter of 2017. Global sales during the fourth quarter of 2017 and during December 2017 were the industry’s highest-ever quarterly and monthly sales, respectively. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

Worldwide semiconductor revenues, year-to-year percent change

Worldwide semiconductor revenues, year-to-year percent change

“As semiconductors have become more heavily embedded in an ever-increasing number of products – from cars to coffee makers – and nascent technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things have emerged, global demand for semiconductors has increased, leading to landmark sales in 2017 and a bright outlook for the long term,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The global market experienced across-the-board growth in 2017, with double-digit sales increases in every regional market and nearly all major product categories. We expect the market to grow more modestly in 2018.”

Several semiconductor product segments stood out in 2017. Memory was the largest semiconductor category by sales with $124.0 billion in 2017, and the fastest growing, with sales increasing 61.5 percent. Within the memory category, sales of DRAM products increased 76.8 percent and sales of NAND flash products increased 47.5 percent. Logic ($102.2 billion) and micro-ICs ($63.9 billion) – a category that includes microprocessors – rounded out the top three product categories in terms of total sales. Other fast-growing product categories in 2017 included rectifiers (18.3 percent), diodes (16.4 percent), and sensors and actuators (16.2 percent). Even without sales of memory products, sales of all other products combined increased by nearly 10 percent in 2017.

Annual sales increased substantially across all regions: the Americas (35.0 percent), China (22.2 percent), Europe (17.1 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (16.4 percent), and Japan (13.3 percent). The Americas market also led the way in growth for the month of December 2017, with sales up 41.4 percent year-to-year and 2.1 percent month-to-month. Next were Europe (20.2 percent/-1.6 percent), China (18.1 percent/1.0 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (17.4 percent/0.2 percent), and Japan (14.0 percent/0.9 percent).

“A strong semiconductor industry is foundational to America’s economic strength, national security, and global technology leadership,” said Neuffer. “We urge Congress and the Trump Administration to enact polices in 2018 that promote U.S. innovation and allow American businesses to compete on a more level playing field with our counterparts overseas. We look forward to working with policymakers in the year ahead to further strengthen the semiconductor industry, the broader tech sector, and our economy.”

Kateeva, a developer of inkjet deposition equipment solutions for OLED display manufacturing, today announced that the company has expanded its executive team by appointing Marc Haugen as chief operating officer (COO).

Mr. Haugen brings extensive semiconductor equipment industry experience to Kateeva. As a former executive at Applied Materials and Lam Research, he implemented operational disciplines designed to maximize supply-chain and manufacturing efficiencies. As COO, his role will be to help drive Kateeva’s operational performance as a technology leader and key enabler of the global display industry. He reports to chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Dr. Alain Harrus.

Mr. Haugen assumes the COO title from Kateeva co-founder, Dr. Conor Madigan, who remains president, and who will now focus on leading the company’s technology and new product development.

“We believe that Marc’s operational roles for global capital equipment companies make him particularly well-qualified to help Kateeva extend its market leadership by applying operational disciplines that will allow us to scale our operations effectively,” said Dr. Harrus.  “We also expect his expertise will enrich our capability to deliver the technology solutions our customers need to win in their marketplace.”

“We’re very pleased to welcome Marc to Kateeva,” noted Dr. Madigan. “As COO, we expect he will further tighten interaction between the field, manufacturing, engineering, finance, and other key functions to support our product development, sales, and operations performance. In addition, he will be responsible for implementing processes to improve efficiency, predictability and reliability, with the goal of reducing overall operating costs.”

“I believe that Kateeva enjoys a strong foundation to build momentum for growth,” said Mr. Haugen. “The technology is industry-leading, the team is outstanding, and the customer base includes leading display companies. This is a terrific opportunity to support Kateeva’s innovation roadmap by driving operational excellence across the company.”

Mr. Haugen has spent three decades working in the semiconductor industry. As group vice president of worldwide operations and supply chain for Applied Materials from 2013-2016, he led a team of thousands of people in factories across the globe, with an annual multi-billion-dollar spend. From his base in Singapore, he directed supply chain operations, volume manufacturing, new product manufacturing, quality and logistics to support the company’s semiconductor systems, display and energy business segments.

Before that, he was corporate vice president of global product operations at Lam Research. While there, he directed the integration of products, product operations, and product development processes, including Lam’s acquisition of Novellus Systems, as well as its acquisition of Austria-based SEZ. During this time, he also served as vice president/managing director of SEZ.

Immediately prior to Kateeva, Mr. Haugen was EVP of global operations and engineering at Cepheid, a molecular diagnostics company. He began his career in 1987 as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. After that, he held operations roles with increasing responsibility at Applied Materials and Lam Research.

Mr. Haugen holds a BS degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Southern California. He earned his MBA with a special focus on international/Asia business strategy from the University of California Los Angeles and the National University of Singapore (UCLA/NUS Executive MBA Program).

3D-Micromac AG, a supplier of laser micromachining and roll-to-roll laser systems for the photovoltaic, medical device and electronics markets, in cooperation with the Taiwan Flat Panel Display Materials and Device Association (TDMDA) and MOS Technology, will host the 6th International Laser and Coating Symposium (ILaCoS) on February 1, 2018 in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

This year’s theme, “The Future of Display Industry”, will bring together experts in the field of laser microprocessing and display fabrication to discuss the latest scientific developments, business opportunities and future manufacturing needs for advanced displays. Distinguished speakers from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Fraunhofer, IHS Technology and other organizations will present on a variety of topics encompassing new and emerging display technologies such as:

  • MicroLED displays
  • Organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays
  • Multifunction displays
  • Flexible displays

“Virtual and augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, and green energy initiatives in the home, office and automobile are having an enormous impact on the display market and driving the development of new display technologies,” according to Uwe Wagner, chief technology officer of 3D-Micromac. “Upcoming display technologies require new manufacturing methods. As the semiconductor, light emitting diode (LED) and display markets continue to converge, microelectronics know-how is needed to realize the next generation of displays. Taiwan is among the most important regions for display manufacturing, while Europe offers a wide range of production and machine manufacturing know-how. The ILaCoS symposium provides a forum that brings both sides together to share their expertise and foster new partnerships in the rapidly evolving display market.”

“TDMDA is anon-profit industry association whose objective is to support the formation of technical R&D alliances among the up, mid, and down-stream manufacturersto meet the new challenges of the display technologies,” stated Dr. Janglin (John) Chen, chairman of TDMDA. “With hosting ILaCoS 2018, TDMDA provides a platform of technology and business opportunity to Taiwanese display manufacturers that enables them to bring the latest process technologies to the Taiwanese market. We sincerely welcome you to join us at this event and help make it a true success.”

2018FLEX, the Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) Conference and Exhibition, will bring together more than 600 experts from around the world for business-critical insights and the latest technology in both flexible electronics and MEMS and sensors. 2018FLEX – February 13-15 in Monterey, California – will spotlight FHE innovation drivers in smart medtech, smart automotive, smart manufacturing, Internet of Things (IoT) and consumer electronics. The event, hosted by SEMI FlexTech, will feature more than 100 market and technical presentations, 60 exhibits, short courses and opportunities to connect with industry visionaries.

This year 2018FLEX will co-locate with the MEMS & Sensors Technical Congress (MSTC). February 13-14, MSTC will highlight leading-edge MEMS and sensors system-level solutions, technology and applications. Click here to register for both events.

The flexible and printed electronics markets are expected to reach $20 billion by 2022, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.5 percent from 2016 to 2022, according to Zion Research. Flexible hybrid electronics and printed electronics enable new form factors and economics for a diverse set of applications. Examples include minimally invasive implantable systems that treat major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the ability to repair or reproduce failed devices during space exploration, and head-up displays (HUDs) that will use ultra-thin holographic films to project transparent images on car windshields for safer driving.

“Global demand for technical expertise on materials, manufacturing and component technologies in FHE and printed electronics is rapidly growing,” said Melissa Grupen-Shemansky, CTO, Flexible Electronics and Advanced Packaging, SEMI. “2018FLEX offers the latest business and technology insights into applications such as flexible biosensors, flexible displays, drones, smart packaging, 3D printing and human-machine interfaces.”

2018FLEX will also showcase the latest technologies and solutions developed by contractors involved in the public/private research and development funding programs in FlexTech, NanoBio Manufacturing Consortium (NBMC), and NextFlex.

Keynotes headlining 2018FLEX will include:

  • Cortera Neurotechnologies – Minimally invasive implantable biosensors for treating major psychiatric illnesses
  • NASA – In-Space Manufacturing, a multi-material Fab Lab for the International Space Station
  • Luminit – Holographic Optical Element technologies for automotive HUD
  • Panasonic – Flexible hybrid electronics applications for lithium-ion batteries
  • Draper Labs – Flexible drones

2018FLEX will also highlight these exciting technologies:

  • Bonbouton – Graphene-based smart insoles for preventative diabetic healthcare
  • PARC – Latest application projects in environmental monitoring, wearables and supply chain solutions
  • Tekscan – Thin, flexible, tactile sensing technology for intelligent surgical, diagnostic and home healthcare applications

About 2018FLEX

The Flexible Electronics Conference and Exhibition (2018FLEX), now in its 17th year, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in Monterey. Highlights will include significant technical achievements, opportunities and challenges within the FHE and printed electronics industries.

By Emir Demircan, Senior Manager Advocacy and Public Policy, SEMI Europe

Electronic manufacturing is becoming cool to today’s youth. STEM skills are hot in the global job market – though the number of females pursuing a STEM education continues to lag. Work-based learning is key to mastering new technologies. And the electronics industry needs a global talent pipeline more than ever.

These were key highlights from a SEMI Member Forum in December that brought together industry representatives and students in Dresden to weigh in on job-skills challenges facing the electronics manufacturers and solutions for the industry to consider. Here are the takeaways:

1) Electronics is much more than manufacturing

For many years, working in the manufacturing industry was not an appealing prospect for millennials. This picture is certainly changing. The pivotal role of electronics manufacturing in helping solve grand societal challenges in areas such as the environment, healthcare and urban mobility is reaffirmed by countries around the world. Electronics is the lifeblood of game-changing technologies such as autonomous driving, AI, IoT, and VR/AR, enticing more young employees into careers in research, design, technology development, production, cyber security and international business, and in disciplines ranging from engineering and data analytics to software development and cyber security.

What’s more, the drudgery of many factory jobs is disappearing thanks to automation, digitization and robotization. According to CEDEFOP, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, low-skilled jobs in electro-engineering and machine operations/assembly in the European Union (EU) is projected to decrease 6.98 percent and 2.03 percent, respectively, between 2015 and 2025.

In parallel, the industry will need more high-skilled workers. For instance, within the same period, CEDEFOP forecasts a 12.51 percent increase in jobs for EU researchers and engineers. Soft skills will see high demand too. As the electronics industry continues to globalize and drive the integration of vertical technologies, workers proficient in communicating in an international environment, leading multicultural teams, developing tailor-made solutions and making data-driven decisions will see higher demand.

2) STEM skills will remain under the spotlight

Continuous innovation is the oxygen of the electronics manufacturing industry, powering the development of highly customized solutions by workers with technical expertise in chemistry, materials, design, mechanics, production and many other fields. In addition, capabilities such as smart manufacturing require workers with growing technical sophistication in areas such as software, information and communications technology (ICT) and data analytics, stiffening the challenge the electronics industry faces in finding skilled workers. Little wonder that employers in Europe struggle to build a workforce with the right technical expertise. The findings of the study “Encouraging STEM Studies for the Labour Market” conducted by the European Parliament underscores the difficulty of hiring enough workers with adequate STEM skills:

  • The proportion of STEM students is not rising at the European level and the underrepresentation of women persists.
  • Businesses are expected to produce about 7 million new STEM jobs, an uptick of 8 percent, between 2013 and 2025 in Europe.

3) The women-in-tech gap is becoming more persistent 

The global manufacturing industry suffers from strikingly low female participation in STEM education and careers. According to UNSECO, in Europe and North America, the number of female graduates in STEM is generally low. For instance, women make up just 19 percent of engineers in Germany and the U.S. The European Parliament study confirms that STEM employment remains stubbornly male-dominated, with women filling just 24 percent of science and engineering jobs and 15 percent of science and engineering associate positions in Europe. According to an article by Guardian, a mere 16 percent of computer science undergraduates in the United Kingdom and the U.S. are female. This yawning gender gap is a deep concern for electronics manufacturing companies in Europe, hampering innovation in a sector that relies heavily on diversity and inclusion and shrinks the talent pipeline critical to remaining competitive.

4) Coping with new technologies: work-based learning is the key

The evolution of the electronics industry since the 1980s has been swift. PCs emerged largely as islands of communication, then became networked. Networking bred the proliferation of social platforms and mobile devices and, today, is giving rise to IoT. Education curricula in Europe, however, have not matured at the same pace, opening a gap between the worlds of industry and education and imposing a formidable school-to-work transition for many young graduates. Work-based learning, which helps students develop the knowledge and practical job skills needed by business, is one solution. The industry reports that work-based learning is vital to remaining competitive in the long run. Innovative dual-learning programmes, apprenticeships and industrial master’s and doctorates are shining examples that are already paying off in some parts of Europe. Such work-based learning models can be extended as a common pillar of education in Europe.

5) A global industry needs a global talent pipeline

The electronics value chain workforce needs an international and multicultural talent pipeline, chiefly spanning the U.S., Europe and Asia. However, many European manufacturers, in particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs), report that building an international workforce remains a challenge due to employment and immigration law barriers as well as cultural and linguistic differences. The EU’s Blue Card initiative, designed to facilitate hiring beyond Europe, is a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, with the exception of Germany, EU member states have made little or no use of the EU Blue Card scheme.

SEMI drives sector-wide initiatives on workforce development

Understanding the urgency, SEMI is accelerating its workforce development activities at global level. Contributing to this initiative, the SEMI talent pipeline Forum in Dresden served as an effective platform for the industry to share its challenges and opportunities with students at various education levels. Led by industry representatives, the sessions enabled the exchange of workforce-development best practices and paved the way for further collaboration among industry, academia and government in Europe. For example, in the Career Café session, students networked with hiring managers. Other workforce development initiatives include:

To help position the skills challenges faced by SEMI members high on the public policy agenda, SEMI in 2017 joined several policy groups including Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and Expert Group on High-Tech Skills. Last year SEMI also launched Women in Tech, an initiative that convenes industry leaders to help increase female representation in the sector. SEMI also educates its members about key EU resources such as the Blue Card and Digital Opportunity Internship programmes aimed at hiring international talent. In 2018, SEMI will reach out to even more young people through its High Tech U programme to raise awareness of careers in electronics. SEMICON Europa 2018 will host dedicated talent pipeline sessions to help the industry tackle its skills challenges. ISS Europe 2018 sessions on Gaining, Training and Retaining World Class Talent will disseminate best practices to the wider industry. Also this year, SEMI Europe plans to start a new advisory group, “Workforce 4.0,” dedicated to bringing together human resources leaders in the sector to give the electronics manufacturing industry a stronger voice on workforce development.

 

After several years of close partnership, SEMI and the Fab Owners Association (FOA) have fully integrated. Driving manufacturing efficiencies remains the overriding purpose of the FOA – where the “A” now stands for “Alliance.”  With FOA’s integration with SEMI, the association will leverage SEMI’s global infrastructure and connections to over 2,000 members around the world to extend its platforms for collaborative networking and benchmarking manufacturing operations.

“FOA members operate some of the most innovative and efficient fabrication facilities and are hotbeds for new optimization methodologies in integrated circuit and micro-electromechanical production,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “The integration of FOA with SEMI brings together firsthand understanding of manufacturing challenges so we can help all SEMI members achieve higher operating efficiency.”

With integration complete, FOA is managed as a Special Interest Group (SIG) within SEMI. FOA member companies will become full SEMI members, with FOA continuing to expand its global membership through SEMI’s global network, while maintaining its unique community.

Established in 2004, FOA brings to SEMI a focus on addressing common semiconductor operations and manufacturing issues. The full integration comes after more than a year in which the organizations operated under an Association Management Agreement where SEMI provided FOA association services and deepened its association with FOA. SEMI-FOA will continue to focus on manufacturing efficiency, including the group’s popular benchmark activities, to enable best practices among FOA members.

“FOA members manufacture a wide variety of complex devices, many of which make up the applications we see in some of the most advanced automotive systems, medical devices, Smart Manufacturing and general IoT,” said Dale Miller, member of the FOA Executive Director, and Senior Director, Fab 9 Semiconductor Manufacturing Operations at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “Given the strong growth in these applications, FOA members must keep the fabs humming at full capacity while always pursuing higher yield and lower cost. To help maintain this momentum, FOA will continue to enable members to collaborate on best practices and benchmarking while focusing on key issues such as cycle-time, yield and tool performance.”

IC Insights is currently researching and writing its 21st edition of The McClean Report, which will be released later this month.  As part of the report, a listing of the 2017 top 50 fabless IC suppliers will be presented.

Figure 1 shows the top 10 ranking of fabless IC suppliers for 2017.  Two China-based fabless companies made the top 10 ranking last year—HiSilicon, which sells most of its devices as internal transfers to smartphone supplier Huawei, and Unigroup, which includes the IC sales of both Spreadtrum and RDA. Fabless company IC sales are estimated to have exceeded $100 billion in 2017, the first time this milestone has been reached.

Figure 1

Figure 1

Unlike the relatively close annual market growth relationship between fabless IC suppliers and foundries, fabless IC company sales growth versus IDM (integrated device manufacturers) IC supplier growth has typically been very different (Figure 2).  The first time IDM IC sales growth outpaced fabless IC company sales growth was in 2010 when IDM IC sales grew 35% and fabless IC company sales grew 29%.  Since very few fabless semiconductor suppliers participate in the memory market, the fabless suppliers did not receive much of a boost from the surging DRAM and NAND flash memory markets in 2010, which grew 75% and 44%, respectively.  However, the fabless IC suppliers once again began growing faster than the IDMs beginning in 2011 and this trend continued through 2014.

Figure 2

Figure 2

In 2015, for only the second time on record, IDM IC sales “growth” (-1%) outpaced fabless IC company sales “growth” (-3%).  The primary cause of the fabless companies’ 2015 sales decline was Qualcomm’s steep 17% drop in sales. Much of the sharp decline in Qualcomm’s sales that year was driven by Samsung’s increased use of its internally developed Exynos application processors in its smartphones instead of the application processors it had previously sourced from Qualcomm.  Although Qualcomm’s sales continued to decline in 2016, the fabless companies’ sales in total (5%) once again outpaced the growth from IDM’s (3%).

In 2017, the market behaved very similarly to 2010, when strong growth in the memory market propelled the IDM IC sales growth rate higher than the fabless IC supplier growth rate.  With the total memory market, a market in which the fabless IC companies have very little share, surging by 58% last year, IDM IC sales growth easily outpaced fabless company IC sales growth in 2017.

The year-end update to the SEMI World Fab Forecast report reveals 2017 spending on fab equipment investments will reach an all-time high of $57 billion. High chip demand, strong pricing for memory, and fierce competition are driving the high-level of fab investments, with many companies investing at previously unseen levels for new fab construction and fab equipment. See figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1

The SEMI World Fab Forecast data shows fab equipment spending in 2017 totaling US$57 billion, an increase of 41 percent year-over-year (YoY). In 2018, spending is expected to increase 11 percent to US$63 billion.

While many companies, including Intel, Micron, Toshiba (and Western Digital), and GLOBALFOUNDRIES increased fab investments for 2017 and 2018, the strong increase reflects spending by just two companies and primarily one region.

SEMI data shows a surge of investments in Korea, due primarily to Samsung, which is expected to increase its fab equipment spending by 128 percent in 2017, from US$8 billion to US$18 billion. SK Hynix also increased fab equipment spending, by about 70 percent, to US$5.5 billion, the largest spending level in its history. While the majority of Samsung and SK Hynix spending remains in Korea, some will take place in China and the United States. Both Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to maintain high levels of investments in 2018. See figure 2.

Figure 2

Figure 2

In 2018, China is expected to begin equipping many fabs constructed in 2017. In the past, non-Chinese companies accounted for most fab investments in China. For the first time, in 2018 Chinese-owned device manufacturers will approach parity, spending nearly as much on fab equipment as their non-Chinese counterparts. In 2018, Chinese-owned companies are expected to invest about US$5.8 billion, while non-Chinese will invest US$6.7 billion. Many new companies such as Yangtze Memory Technology, Fujian Jin Hua, Hua Li, and Hefei Chang Xin Memory are investing heavily in the region.

Historic highs in equipment spending in 2017 and 2018 reflect growing demand for advanced devices. This spending follows unprecedented growth in construction spending for new fabs also detailed in the SEMI World Fab Forecast report. Construction spending will reach all-time highs with China construction spending taking the lead at US$6 billion in 2017 and US$6.6 billion in 2018, establishing another record: no region has ever spent more than US$6 billion in a single year for construction.