Taiwan-based CCL supplier Iteq expects its revenues to be driven by a continued influx of orders for server and 5G base station applications in the second quarter of 2021.
Semiconductor equipment vendors ASML and Applied Materials have been hiring talent for their local operations in Taiwan.
EMS giant Foxconn, taking a step further in its transformation, has formed a joint venture with passive component maker Yageo for the development and sales of what they call "small ICs" - semiconductor chips with ASP lower than US$2.00. Meanwhile, TSMC has seen orders from Bitmain pick up for 5nm chips used in cryptomining. TSMC is also expected to make 6nm processors for Sony's redesigned PS5 games console.
Driven by a resurgent memory market and relatively flat sales results from Intel, IC Insights believes that Samsung will again replace Intel as the leading semiconductor producer beginning in the second quarter of this year.
Demand for white-box servers from datacenter operators has been growing fast, with Taiwanese ODM's shipments already accounting for more than one third of the world's total server shipments in 2020, according to Digitimes Research's latest Server Tracker quarterly report. Earlier this year, foundry house VIS set its 2021 capex budget at NT$5 billion, a sharp increase from last yea's level. Now it has raised the capex budget further to NT$8 billion to fund its capacity expansion. With persistently strong demand for ICs, silicon wafer supplier GloabalWafers expects sales momentum to remain robust through 2023.
Display driver IC (DDI) backend specialists Chipbond Technology and ChipMOS Technologies have seen unstable capacity utilization for processing small- to medium-size applications due mainly to unstable wafer shipments from chip designers, according to industry sources.
PCB and LED bicycle light maker EISO Enterprise has seen shipments rising and judging from order visibility expects full capacity utilization to remain until year-end 2021 at least, according to company chairman Chien Jung-kun.
GaAs foundry Advanced Wireless Semiconductor Company (AWSC) is expected to enjoy sequential revenue increases through June, and will see further revenue growth after new production capacity comes online in the third quarter at the earliest, according to industry sources.
Taiwan-based IC design houses are bracing for a robust second-quarter 2021, fueled by persistently strong demand along with rising chip prices, according to industry sources.
Memory chip makers Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics will see their revenues boosted by rising ASPs in the second quarter, according to industry sources.
Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) has raised its capex budget for 2021 by 70% to NT$8.5 billion (US$303.8 million), with plans to purchase more fab equipment supporting its long-term expansion projects.
