In 2021, the semiconductor industry will erupt in a concentrated manner, and 2022 will usher in the "gold" start

According to data released by Gartner, global semiconductor revenue reached $583.5 billion in 2021, an increase of 25.1%, breaking through the threshold of $500 billion for the first time. The main reason is that the strong demand from core industries such as automotive has led to insufficient capacity in the industry, coupled with supply chain shortages and price increases, and the average selling price (ASP) of semiconductors has increased significantly.

Specific to the company, Samsung Electronics has taken the top spot from Intel for the first time since 2018. Revenue grew 31.6% in 2021, and its memory revenue grew by 34.2% in 2021, in line with the growth rate of the entire memory market. Intel fell to second place in 2021 with a growth rate of 0.5%, the lowest growth rate among the top 25 suppliers.

It is worth noting that Gartner data shows that in 2021, the global chip manufacturing industry will expand capital expenditure and invest about $146 billion, 50% higher than before the epidemic, and TSMC, Samsung Electronics and Intel will account for 60% of the semiconductor industry capital expenditure in 2021, but it will be used in the most stressful mature process, accounting for only about one-sixth, resulting in a continuous tight supply of mature process chips for automobiles, household appliances and small electronic products. This makes UMC, GF, SMIC and other wafer foundries with mature processes as the main body of operation shine.

UMC's capital expenditures are expected to increase to $3 billion this year, up 66 percent from $2.3 billion last year. GlobalFoundries, the world's fourth-largest foundry, has capital expenditures estimated at about $2 billion in 2021, $4.5 billion this year and $2 billion in 2023. SMIC will expand its 8-inch wafer production capacity by 45,000 units and 12-inch wafers in 2021, and it will take 3 to 6 months for the mature process to expand production, and the expansion level in 2022 and 2023 will continue to exceed the scale in 2021. Previously, in October 2021, SMIC announced that it would spend a total of US$11.22 billion to expand production in Shenzhen and Shanghai.