The worldwide semiconductor capital equipment market declined 3{1c8721459c474d1d5b48ba9ae7120e36de45aa62207fb48292a0a282be55d27f} last year to $36.53 billion from 2014’s $37.5 billion, but inside China the story was significantly different. Capital equipment sales there increased by 12{1c8721459c474d1d5b48ba9ae7120e36de45aa62207fb48292a0a282be55d27f} in 2015, to $4.9 billion. In fact, only Japan showed a higher growth rate last year, of 31{1c8721459c474d1d5b48ba9ae7120e36de45aa62207fb48292a0a282be55d27f}, according to figures from SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan. Of course, it should be noted that China was the fifth-largest market for semiconductor production equipment during 2015, trailing Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and North America, in that order. Still, the potential market growth for China is tremendous, owing to the “Made in China 2025” plan adopted last year by the national government. China’s trade deficit in chips is currently about $150 billion a year. The country is the world’s largest importer of semiconductors due to its sizable industries in consumer electronics and contract electronics manufacturing, fed by dozens of outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) companies. The 2025 plan calls for the People’s Republic of China to bulk up in all areas of chip design and manufacturing – more IC design firms and fabless semiconductor companies, more silicon foundries, more manufacturers of logic and memory chips, more OSATs, and more vendors of semiconductor capital equipment. The goal is to reduce the country’s severe dependence on chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment from abroad.
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