ROSY | Life with Rose Colors

In the international financial crisis and the downturn in the global semiconductor industry, IC manufacturing industry can be regarded as an obvious "losers."

 In order to reduce operating costs, the international semiconductor giants have spin-off manufacturing operations, even the integrated circuit industry, the most self-sufficient CPU enterprises can not escape. In China, the wafer foundry IC manufacturing enterprises are still the main force in the face by the financial tsunami engulfed the market, they more deeply understand that hard work the Chinese market is fundamental to business survival.

With the integrated circuit industry into maturity, it was the beginning of "low-profit era" have the advent of fear. In fact, because IC foundry manufacturing enterprises, especially enterprises in the IC industry chain in which the special status of a period of downturn in the market losses are inevitable, for in recent years, are used to the "lean times ahead," China's grain Yuan foundry enterprises, industry-wide "low-profit era" comes hand, will not bring too much psychological impact.

Judging from the first half of this year, China's IC manufacturing enterprises operating conditions restored the situation is quite gratifying, especially Grace Semiconductor has announced the third quarter of this year, the company will be the first single-quarter profit, the news people feel somewhat unexpected. From a technical point of view, domestic enterprises have not slowed down its pace of advance the field of high-end technology, SMIC 65-nanometer low-power products has already begun trial production of its 45-nm products already in the customer's authentication process.

Although China has the world's largest IC market, but the Chinese IC design enterprises current strength, but also unable to survive the difficult Chinese IC manufacturers to provide sufficient "food" and therefore, China's IC manufacturing enterprises must also rest of the world in particular, to give more attention to the North American market.

While the international financial crisis sapped the U.S. economy, but has not yet shaken the U.S. in the global economy status as a leading Wall Street continues to affect the world economy, an important force in the future direction, while the U.S. population and spending power consumption will determine the future market is up down the factors that can not be ignored, the semiconductor industry will naturally right and remains capricious pay more attention to the North American market.

For IC manufacturers, the "concern in North America" is a deeper meaning. After suffering heavy losses in the financial crisis, has long advocated the "market economy" and "free trade" in the United States began to trade protectionism and means to compensate for their lack of competitiveness of domestic enterprises, while the U.S. dollar and the oil from the Abu Dhabi AMD's the combination of advanced technology, the United States and even the first semiconductor foundry TSMC's ability to have a challenge, once America's IC manufacturing industry are also infected with the "trade protection syndrome", which will blow foundry in Asia enterprise.

If China's Taiwan region's "wafer planes" in the North American market "failure of the east corner," they will certainly be turned to China to "Shouzhisangyu" in. Can imagine, when the foundry business in mainland China living environment will be even worse.