AI server demand is pushing semiconductor packaging into a new growth cycle, but the market remains heavily concentrated among a small group of global outsourced semiconductor assembly and test leaders and Taiwanese and Chinese companies, sharpening the challenge for South Korea's back-end chip industry.
Intel's reported preliminary agreement to manufacture some chips for Apple is putting new pressure on Samsung Electronics, as the US chipmaker gains momentum with major technology customers and leans on Washington's support to revive its foundry business.
The global semiconductor materials market reached a record high of US$73.2 billion in 2025, up 6.8% year-over-year, according to the latest Materials Market Data Subscription (MMDS) report released by SEMI on May 13, 2026.
As the Iran war and the geopolitical uncertainty it has triggered continue to intensify, global technology supply chains are coming under heavier-than-expected pressure. In addition to surging metal raw material prices, shortages of high-specification ISO containers used to transport helium, as well as specialty industrial solvents, are driving up production costs and threatening the stability of semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
At a time when the global semiconductor industry is undergoing a historic restructuring, the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association says Southeast Asia is evolving from a backend manufacturing base into one of the world's most resilient semiconductor supply chain hubs.
