Semiconductor market to expand 25% in 2021, grow further in 2022: WSTS

The global semiconductor market is expected to expand 25.1 percent this year on the back of robust growth from the memory sector, a report from an industry tracker showed Wednesday, amid concerns of a slowdown in demand.

World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), a nonprofit organization of chipmakers, said the global semiconductor market is expected to grow to $551 billion in 2021, up from its previous forecast of $527.2 billion.

It also revised up the market growth for the year to 25.1 percent from 19.7 percent after reflecting figures from the second quarter.

WSTS said the growth will be anchored by memory chips that are dominated by South Korean chipmakers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc.

It expected the growth rate of the memory chip market to reach 37.1 percent, followed by analog semiconductors with 29.1 percent and logic chips with 26.2 percent.

WSTS predicted all regions to post a double-digit growth this year, with the Asia-Pacific area leading the growth at 27.2 percent. Europe was the runner-up with 26.4 percent followed by the Americas with 21.5 percent.

Shares in Samsung and SK hynix recently have been dropping sharply as investors worry about a possible slowdown in memory demand starting in the fourth quarter, but WSTS presented a positive outlook for 2022.

It projected the global semiconductor market to grow by 10.1 percent to $606 billion on the back of a double-digit growth of the memory category. (Yonhap)