S. Korea loses spot as 2nd largest chip materials market to China

South Korea's revenue for chip materials grew 3.9 percent on-year to US$9.23 billion in 2020, but it was not enough to retain its spot as the second-largest market for semiconductor materials, losing to China whose posted at $9.76 billion, up 12 percent on-year.

Taiwan topped the market for the eleventh consecutive year last year with a $12.83 billion revenue, an 8.2 percent year-on-year increase. It is home to TSMC, the world's top foundry company.

Last year, the global semiconductor materials market jumped 4.9 percent on-year to a record $55.3 billion in revenue, according to SEMI, according to SEMI, a global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain industry association.

Revenues from wafer fabrication materials soared 6.5 percent on-year to $34.9 billion, while those from packing materials grew 2.3 percent on-year to $20.4 billion.

SEMI forecast that the global fab equipment spending would expand 15.5 percent this year and 12.2 percent next year.