Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) chairman Bough Lin expects the packaging and testing sector to see a 7-13% rise in 2011, and the overall chip market to show stable growth.

During SPIL's investors conference on October 27, Lin said that the semiconductor market might perform better than expected in the fourth quarter. It could reverse upward at any time, Lin added, judging from downstream clients' positive attitude towards the end-market.

The general market consensus is that fourth-quarter revenues at packaging and testing firms may remain flat, or decline slightly, on quarter.

Orders for PC-related products will remain flat sequentially in the fourth quarter, on a pick-up in graphics chips but slower chipset demand, Lin said. Demand coming from the consumer electronics sector, particularly LCD panels, is likely to weaken in the fourth quarter, Lin indicated. The memory segment will also show a decline in the fourth quarter, especially demand coming from DRAM, Lin added.

SPIL expects to utilize 90% of its wire bonding capacity in the fourth quarter, down from 95% in the third. Meanwhile, utilization rates of its flip-chip (FC) packaging and logic IC testing capacity will arrive at 95% and 70%, respectively, with the latter down 5pp sequentially.

In addition, Lin revealed that SPIL has slowed down the expansion of its copper wirebonding capacity due to weaker-than-expected customer demand. Therefore, the company estimated its capex for 2010 at NT$17 billion, a downward revision from its previous target of NT$21 billion.

SPIL chairman Bough Lin
Photo: Terry Ku, Digitimes, October 2010