BLEAK YEAR: However, Taiwan’s chip industry should outperform the global industry, an ITRI analyst said, adding: ‘We are not pessimistic about the nation’s chip industry’

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 26, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwanese chip industry is expected to experience anemic year-on-year growth of 0.9 percent in production value this year, primarily as demand dwindles amid trade uncertainty and decelerating smartphones sales, the Taiwan Semiconductor Industrial Association’s (TSIA) latest report said yesterday.

The chip industry as a whole is expected to see production value creep up to NT$2.64 trillion (US$85.73 billion) this year from NT$2.62 trillion last year, the association said, citing a forecast by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院).

The latest growth forecast was trimmed from annual growth of 2 to 3 percent estimated previously, the institute said.

The IC industry covers chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, with the manufacturing segment accounting for more than 50 percent of the industry’s total production value.    [FULL  STORY]