Wafer foundry UMC (2303-TW)(UMC-US) held today (25), said the law, announcing that this year’s capital expenditure will reach 3 billionDollar, an increase of 66% compared with last year; however, for the market to expand 28nm production capacity, UMC for the first time believes that the 28nm market may face oversupply following 2023.
UMC’s capital expenditure last year was regarding 1.8 billionDollar, 90% of this year’s capital expenditure is for 12-inch capacity and 10% for 8-inch capacity. Among them, the 10,000-piece capacity expanded in Nanke’s Fab 12A P5 plant will be in place in the second quarter, and the Xiamen plant will also increase its production capacity by 10,000 pieces.
However, Wang Shi, co-general manager of UMC, pointed out that the expansion of the P6 plant has been delayed a bit, and will continue to work hard to shorten the process. It is still expected to be put into operation in the second quarter of next year, and the production capacity will be increased from the originally planned 27,500 pieces to 32,500 pieces. piece.
The major fabs have successively expanded their 28nm production capacity. Foreign investors are concerned regarding how UMC views the future supply and demand of the industry. Wang Shi said that the leading manufacturers in the market are optimistic that the industry demand will continue to grow, and UMC also holds the same view.
On the supply side, Wang Shi said that judging from the expansion plans that have been announced in the market, the time point when the 28nm capacity may oversupply will be following 2023, but since 28nm is the sweet spot for many applications, demand will increase. Continued growth, the oversupply situation is relatively slight, and UMC’s 28nm coverage rate is regarding 80%, and it is expected to maintain a high growth rate.
