KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased 5% to an all-time record of US$107.6 billion (RM473.55 billion) last year, from US$102.6 billion in 2021, said US-based Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (Semi).

In a statement on its website on Wednesday (April 12), Semi said that for the third consecutive year, China remained the largest semiconductor equipment market in 2022, despite a 5% slowdown in the pace of investments in the region year-on-year (y-o-y), accounting for US$28.3 billion in billings.

Taiwan, the second-largest destination for equipment spending, recorded an increase of 8% to US$26.8 billion, marking the fourth straight year of growth for the region.

Semi said equipment sales to South Korea contracted 14% to US$21.5 billion.

Annual semiconductor equipment investments in Europe surged 93%, while North America logged a 38% increase.

Sales to the rest of the world went up by 34%, and to Japan by 7% y-o-y.

Semi president and chief executive officer Ajit Manocha said the record high for semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales in 2022 stemmed from the industry’s drive to add the fab capacity required to support long-term growth and innovations in key end markets, including high-performance computing and automotive.

“Additionally, the results reflect investments and determination across regions to avoid future semiconductor supply chain constraints like those that surfaced during the pandemic,” he said.

Semi said global sales of wafer processing equipment rose 8% in 2022, while other front-end segment billings grew 11%.

After robust growth in 2021, assembly and packaging equipment sales decreased 19% last year, while total test equipment billings contracted 4% y-o-y, it said.