Demand key to driving 2016 semiconductor market, says ASE COO

Julian Ho, Seoul;Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES, Nov. 05, 2015 – 

The 2016 semiconducor market will be all about demand, according to Tien Wu, COO for IC backend house Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE).

Macroeconomic factors such as US interest rates, Europe's economies and quantitative easing in Japan will drive demand for mass-market consumer devices influencing the semiconductor market in 2016, said Wu.

ASE has been actively engaged in inventory correction, and the process is about to come to an end, Wu indicated.

In addition, Wu observed that China is undertaking a different approach to promoting the development of its semiconductor industry. China is focusing on innovation for accelerating the industry development, instead of capacity expansions, Wu said.

As China is looking for partners to advance its chip-making technologies, Taiwan-based chipmakers could find very good business opportunities by partnering with their China-based counterparts, Wu noted.

Nevertheless, the rise of China's semiconductor industry could also pose a threat to Taiwan's semiconductor sector, Wu indicated. To mitigate the impact of China on Taiwan's semiconductor industry, Taiwan's authorities should work on more efficient policies to protect local firms' IP assets and allow manufacturers to stay competitive globally, Wu said.

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