The government predicted that this year, exports of Korean semiconductors will exceed 100 billion dollars for the second time in history. It is predicted that semiconductor facility investment will also rise to the top in the world, surpassing China and Taiwan.
This is due to the increasing demand for servers and laptops as the non-face-to-face economy spreads due to Corona 19.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Semiconductor Association made this observation on the 5th, saying, “This year, the global semiconductor market is expected to increase by about 8-10% compared to last year, and the memory market is expected to increase by about 13-20%.”
This is the first time that the government has announced a separate forecast for semiconductor exports. It is from the analysis that the semiconductor sector has been booming since last year due to the paradox of Corona 19 and will serve as a support for our economy this year.
The government predicts that this year’s semiconductor exports will increase by 10.2% from last year to 107.5 billion to 11 billion dollars, the second ever to exceed 100 billion dollars after 2018 (126.7 billion dollars).
Memory, mainly for DRAM, which is expected to increase in price, increased by 12.0% from last year to $70.3 billion to $72.9 billion as exports increased significantly, and system semiconductors increased by 7.0% to 31.8 billion dollars due to increased demand for 5G communication chips and image sensors and acquisition of large foundries It was estimated at ~33 billion dollars.
An official from the Ministry of Industry said, “The market conditions are expected to improve as demand for downstream industries such as smartphones, servers, and PCs increases due to the expansion of the 5G market and the confidence of a non-face-to-face economy.”
In the case of DRAM, the government expects that DRAM will convert to excess demand from the beginning of the year and gradually expand, and NAND will maintain excess supply and then convert to excess demand from the second half of the year.
System Semiconductor also predicted that the global market will grow by about 5.5% due to increased demand for foundry consignment, increased demand for 5G communication chips, high-resolution image sensors, and display driving chips (DDI) due to the revitalization of the non-face-to-face economy and the acceleration of 5G spread.
In terms of facility investment in the semiconductor sector, the government expected that Korea will retake the No. 1 position in facility investment, which was lost to China and Taiwan in 2019 after the semiconductor supercycle in 2017-18, in two years.
According to the International Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Association (SEMI), Korea’s semiconductor facility investment this year is $18.9 billion, more than China ($16.8 billion) and Taiwan ($15.6 billion).
As market expectations for the semiconductor boom were reflected, Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization as of the end of December last year increased to $50.1 billion, surpassing Taiwan’s TSMC and regaining the top spot in global semiconductor market capitalization in five months.
In the case of last year, Korean semiconductor exports recorded 99.2 billion dollars, an increase of 5.6% from the previous year. It also ranked second in the history of Corona 19 and Huawei sanctions. In particular, system semiconductor exports recorded a record high of $30.3 billion, making it the fifth-largest export item beyond steel and petroleum products on an annual basis.
Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said, “This year, semiconductors will drive the recovery and export of the Korean economy, including exports and investments, and will serve as a driving force for the acceleration of the Korean New Deal and digital transformation.” We will provide policy support so that we can leap into a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse through the creation of an ecosystem.”
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