World Semiconductor Factories to Start 29 New Constructions by Next Year... Equipment Investment Alone Reaches 160 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As semiconductor manufacturers worldwide expand their production facilities in response to the semiconductor boom, construction of 29 large-scale semiconductor factories will begin globally this year and next. The investment in semiconductor equipment alone is expected to reach 160 trillion won, signaling a significant boom in the semiconductor equipment market.

On the 22nd (local time), the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) analyzed that 19 semiconductor production facilities will start construction this year and 10 next year. By country, China and Taiwan each have 8, the United States 6, Europe and the Middle East a total of 3, and Japan and Korea 2 each.

Data provided by SEMI

By sector, foundries are expected to account for the largest share with 15 out of 29. The newly built foundry fabs will vary in monthly production capacity from as low as 30,000 wafers to as high as 220,000 wafers. Memory semiconductor production facilities are expected to be built four times over two years, with estimated monthly production ranging from 100,000 to 400,000 wafers.

When large-scale semiconductor factories are built, equipment demand also increases significantly. SEMI forecasts that the investment in equipment for the 29 factories scheduled for construction by next year will exceed $140 billion over the coming years. Since most of the production facilities are starting construction this year, equipment installation is expected to begin as early as the first half of next year, following groundwork and construction.