For the past two years, the semiconductor industry has suffered from a decline in demand in the aftermath of the global economic recession. Things, however, are looking up in 2010. Final touches are being put on the restructuring of the semiconductor industry and signs of the global economic recovery are surfacing and to motivate the semiconductor industry into kick-starting the long-delayed investment activities.
Toshiba, the world's second-largest NAND flash supplier, announced its plan to invest 100 billion yen (KRW1.2 trillion) in its NAND flash production plant in the first half of this year to ramp up its production capacity by 40 percent. Japanese DRAM (dynamic random access memory) maker Elpida Memory Inc., the world's third-largest DRAM supplier, also looks to plough 60 billion yen (KRW744 billion) into its production facility, which is up 50 percent from last year. Moreover, Elpida Memory has already embarked on churning out next-generation 40-nanometer DDR3 (double data rate 3) DRAM chips that have been hitherto solely produced by Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
The resumption of investment activities by Japanese semiconductor suppliers have mapped out a scheme to overtake industry leaders such as Samsung Electronics and Hynix. However, not to be out done by Japanese rivals, S. Korean semiconductor makers have also come up with their own investment plans, which are expected to outshine those of their Japanese rivals. When Samsung Electronics reported its performance in the third quarter of 2009, the world's largest electronics maker unveiled its plan to invest KRW5.5 trillion. The world' second largest DRAM maker, Hynix, also followed suit with a plan to invest KRW2.3 trillion.
Along with the memory industry, non-memory industries are also likely to see a pick-up in investments on expectations of a market recovery. Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) predicted that the total amount of the global semiconductor whose industry's investment in overall facilities including equipment and materials would reach US$25.7 billion.
