CHINA'S integrated circuit market surpassed the United States
and Japan in 2005 to rank No. 1 globally for the first time,
according to IC Insights, a US-based semiconductor consulting
firm.
The rising popularity of mobile phones and consumer electronics
have boosted demand for chips in China, and the growth of digital
TVs and next-generation phone applications will continue to fuel
demand, analysts said.
China's IC market grew 32 percent to US$40.8 billion in 2005, much
greater than the 8 percent growth rate for the IC industry
worldwide.
The Chinese IC market is expected to reach US$124 billion by 2010,
according to IC Insights.
In 2005, China represented 21 percent of the world's US$192.4
billion in IC consumption, up from 6 percent in 2000, the
consulting firm said.
"Chips designed for mobility and multimedia will become the
mainstream trends," said Yu Zhongyu, the China Semiconductor
Industry Association's secretary general.
China's mobile phone user pool has now reached 380 million, ranking
No.1 in the world. In addition, the country plans to issue
third-generation licenses for mobile communications systems next
year and broaden its digital TV programming within two years.
The size of China's IC market, however, may not necessarily mean
that large amounts of production will surge into the mainland,
according to Yu.
China-based IC production amounted to about US$2.6 billion in 2005
and is expected to rise to US$12.1 billion by 2010 still only 10
percent of the forecast IC market on the mainland at that time, IC
Insights said.
"As it moves to address the situation, the Chinese government will
soon issue new support policies for the semiconductor sector,
including fund raising, talent training and favorable taxes," said
Li Ke, an analyst at Beijing-based CCID Consulting, a research firm
under the Ministry of Information Industry.
