CCID Consulting has released its latest Research Report on China's IC Industry, January-June 2007. Data shows that thanks to a continuous semiconductor market and a stable electronic information manufacturing industry, China's IC industry continued to maintain a rather fast and stable growth in the first half of 2007. CCID Consulting's statistics show that between January and June, China's IC output totalled 19.74 billion pieces, up 15.2% over the first half of 2006. Sales revenues in the whole industry totalled 60.722 billion Yuan, up 33.2% year-on-year, representing a fallback from the ultra 48% high growth in the first half of 2006.

In the first half of 2007, the various links of the IC industry, namely IC design, chip making and packaging & testing performed differently. Despite the slowdown of the global semiconductor market in the first quarter, sales revenues in China's chip making, packaging and testing industries continued to expand rapidly. This was mainly driven by the newly built production lines. Between January and June, sales revenues in the chip making industry reached 18.405 billion Yuan, up 34.3% year-on-year. In the packaging and testing industry, sales revenues amounted to 32.784 billion Yuan, up by 36.1% year-on- year. Due to a sluggish MP3 and video camera market, sales revenues in China's IC design industry reached 9.532 billion Yuan, representing a fallback in growth, down to 22.8% from 50.8% in the first half of 2006.

Regionally, the Yangtze River Delta Region has the most intensive IC industry in China. It was also the fastest-growing industry in the country in the first half of the year. CCID Consulting's data shows that between January and June, IC sales revenues in the region reached 44.723 billion Yuan, up 37.2% year-on-year. The Beijing-Tianjin Bohai Sea Rim Region and the Pearl River Delta Region are also intensive IC regions in China. In the first half of this year, the IC industry slowed down in some degree in both regions. In the Pearl River Delta Region, the industry saw its growth rate drop to 24.7% from the ultra high rate of 60.6% in the first half of 2006, reaching 3.252 billion Yuan. In the Beijing-Tianjin Bohai Sea Rim Region, IC sales revenues totalled 11.21 billion Yuan, up 21.6% year-on-year.

To sum up the market and industry environment both at home and abroad, China's IC industry will bid farewell to the 43% high growth in 2006 and enter a relatively stable development cycle. For the whole year, industry size growth will drop to around 30%. Sales revenues are expected to remain around 131 billion Yuan. The chip making, packaging and testing industries will be the main driving forces for industry expansion. Despite a slowdown, China will no doubt continue to have the fastest growing IC industry in the world in 2007. It will also gain a higher position in the global IC industry. By the end of this year, China 's IC sales revenue is expected to account for over 8% of that of the world. This means that China's goal to "bring its IC industry to 8% of the global industry by 2010" in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan will be realized 3 years in advance.