Taiwan-based 8- and 12-inch foundries are all poised to raise their quotes for mature process technologies at a quarterly pace of at least 5-10% through the first quarter of 2022, according to sources at IC design houses.
Taiwan-based foundries, particularly second-tier players, have seen their gross margins and profits surge since the fourth quarter of 2020. With customer demand staying robust, coupled with limited room in mature process capacity expansion, the foundries are expected to continue fully utilizing their fab capacities through the end of 2021, the sources said.
United Microelectronics (UMC), Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) are all set to post sequential sales increases through the fourth quarter of 2021, the sources indicated. Bullish wafer ASPs will also buoy further the foundries' gross margin and profit performance in the second half of the year.
Taiwan-based fabless chipmakers are already engaged in talks about the available foundry capacity for 2022 and beyond, said the sources, adding that the order commitments are encouraging Taiwan-based foundries to build additional fabrication lines particularly those for 28nm and other mature processes.
In other news, Samsung Electronics was quoted as saying in a recent eeNews report that it is increasing foundry prices to support more investment in 5nm EUV process technology. The price hikes could push up costs of GPUs, SoCs and controllers produced by Samsung Foundry.
Article translated by Jessie Shen
