Singapore - Semiconductors Singapore - Semiconductors
Overview
|
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 (estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total Market Size |
1,150 |
2,170 |
16,163 | 10,000 |
|
Local Production |
24,655 |
30,818 | 26,338 | 22,000 |
|
Exports |
87,233 |
98,451 |
75,141 |
72,000 |
|
Imports |
63,728 |
69,805 |
64,966 |
60,000 |
|
Import from U.S. |
4,238 |
3,784 |
3,774 |
3,300 |
|
Exchange Rate: 1USD |
1.38 |
1.38 |
1.35 |
1.35 |
$US millions (total market size = (total local production + imports) - exports)
Data Sources: Singapore Government Trade Statistics
Singapore-based electronics manufacturers account for 11% global market share for semiconductor wafer foundry output and 25% global market share for printers. The world’s top three wafer foundry companies, top three sub-contract assembly-and-test companies, and top four fabless IC design companies all have facilities in Singapore. Electronic components for these plants are imported and integrated into products such as mobile phones, digital cameras, hand-held tablets, music players, game consoles, and televisions, which are then mainly exported. According to news articles, the electronics semiconductor sector has been a driving force of the overall manufacturing sector over the past year but is now seeing signs of a slowdown.
Singapore’s manufacturing sector has emerged as a regional economic powerhouse, contributing at least 20% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A large component of this sector – electronics semiconductors – has attracted substantial foreign investments, as well as value-added output and employment, contributing more than 25% of the manufacturing output. Despite the global trade wars, cost pressures and regional competition, coupled with local structural shifts towards higher-value production and services, Singapore continues to be a world-class semiconductor hub. It is still the location of choice for multi-national corporations (MNC) to enter new markets, launch products, processes, applications, and technology.
Leading Sub-Sectors
There are increasing opportunities for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) companies to pursue in various areas such as medical devices and aerospace. Many of the world’s top EMS companies such as Flextronics, Solectron, and Venture are located in Singapore, which is becoming an attractive base of high value-added production activities. Another electronic component technology that is being developed is the Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), which is gradually replacing LCD panels.
Leading the growth will be new technology products such as 3D printers, Ultra-High Definition televisions, connected thermostats, unmanned systems (unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned vehicles, and home robots), internet protocol cameras and wearables such as health and fitness devices and smartwatches. Smart phones, which are driving social media usage in Asia, are also on the increase. These products are expected to double, growing more than 100% year-over-year in recent years.
The wearable device revolution is a key category to watch in the coming years. It is projected that overall wearable unit sales will reach 30 million units and generate in excess of US$5 billion in annual revenue over the next few years. Health and fitness devices are expected to lead unit sales among all wearables with a projected 20 million units and such proliferation of digital technologies require increasing memory demand such as DRAM and NAND flash memory products. The revenue is expected to surpass US$1.8 billion.
Opportunities
The precision engineering industry, which supports the EMS companies, is an important sector of the Singapore economy. Through the supply of components, tooling, and equipment, this industry provides integral support to the manufacturing sector. Emerging global trends such as rapid urbanization, smart city initiatives, energy conservation, cryptocurrency mining and ageing populations poses new challenges for the Singapore market, which in turn allows for new opportunities for the electronics industry in Singapore.
New growth areas that have been identified are in green electronics, bio-electronics, plastic electronics, blockchain transactions and security. Over the next 3-5 years, the contribution to electronics output from these new growth areas is expected to triple to 30% of the electronics output, which will result in more than 20,000 skilled jobs being created in both the manufacturing and service sectors.
The Government of Singapore still expects to greatly expand manufacturing output beyond 2020 and is aiming to reach a total manufacturing output of US$200 billion and total manufacturing value-added of US$50 billion. Hewlett Packard and Texas Instruments have invested nearly US$10 billion combined. Singapore is also a leading manufacturer of enterprise hard disk drives with companies such as Seagate and Hitachi. Over the past few years, the country accounted for half of the world’s enterprise hard disk drives.
Web Resources
Trade Shows
Semicon Southeast Asia
May 7-9, 2019
Singapore Government Offices
Singapore Economic Development Board
Industry Organizations
Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association
Association of Electronic Industries in Singapore
U.S. Commercial Service, Singapore Contact
Mr. CHAN Y K, Commercial Specialist
Email: yiukei.chan@trade.gov