CONNECT WITH US

Taiwan IC backend sector to see growth in 2H19 thanks to 5G, says Digitimes Research

Eric Chen, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei

Despite the ongoing US-China trade tensions, Taiwan's IC packaging and testing industry is still expected to see second-half 2019 revenues grow from the first half thanks to rising demand for 5G-related applications, according to Digitimes Research.

Digitimes Research expects Taiwan's top-5 packaging and testing service providers to see their combined revenues rise over 20% sequentially in the second half and 6.2% on year. Demand for packaging and testing services on 5G chips is expected to continue rising in 2020 and boost the providers' revenues.

The semiconductor industry was in a downturn in the first half of 2019, but sales started to recover in the second half with vendors' releases of 5G equipment and smartphones. Taiwan's top-5 IC packaging and testing service provider already saw their combined revenues reach a new high in the third quarter of 2019 and 5G chips will remain the key driver for their operation in the fourth quarter.