TSMC Chairman Morris Chang: Semiconductor Growth to Be Driven by Tablet PCs

Optimistic about growth potential of tablet PCs, Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest semiconductor foundry by output, projects the global market for such products to significantly expand at an annual compound growth rate of 34% from 2011 through 2016, which will help to fuel his industry in the years to come.

Chang reiterated his optimism about market outlook this year, stressing that the global semiconductor industry is expected to see output value surge 2% in the year from 2011, based on the forecast that hot-selling smartphones and tablet PCs will continue to lead the global trends for consumer electronic devices.

With semiconductor components increasingly used in electronic devices, Chang indicated that Taiwanese IC designers are very likely to achieve bigger market shares, along with IDM (integrated device manufacturers) to increasingly outsource production. In light of the upcoming booms, he believes that IC designers and manufacturers will lead the growth of the overall semiconductor industry in the coming years.

Chang also pointed out the emergence of new media and related applications will also contribute to growth of the industry, considering the fact that global shipment of tablet PCs, a major platform of streaming multimedia, already shot up to 60 million units last year from 17 million units shipped a year ago, with the growth mainly driven by Apple Inc.'s iPad.

In the near future, world's major brand vendors such as Apple, Amazon and Asus will be increasingly engaged in developing and upgrading their tablet PC models, which, Chang emphasized, call for more precision semiconductor technologies and, in turn, will buoy TSMC, which has already led the industry by advanced technologies and output.

To ride on the uptrend, Chang said that his company will surely increase investment in output expansion and R&D.

source & copyright: CENS