Taiwan-based 6-inch foundries are bracing for a particularly weak second half of this year, due to the falling demand for handset power amplifiers (PA) and other related chip solutions, according to industry sources.

With Intel looking to set up two wafer fabs in Magdeburg, Germany, in 2023, the country is well positioned to become a major global IC production hub, according to the German Trade Office Taipei (AHK Taiwan).

Automotive chips and power devices continue to see uneven supplies, and Taiwan’s leading OSATs including ASE Technology and international IDMs such as Infineon, Renesas, NXP, ST Microelectronics and Onsemi all badly need backend equipment to support their chips production. According to Chan Pin Chong, senior vice president and general manager of products and solutions at Kulicke & Soffa (K&S), a leading vendor of advanced packaging and other semiconductor equipment, the gap between capacity demand and equipment supply has already been narrowing.