China, South Korea, Taiwan to spend most on chip equipment in 2025-2027, industry body says

Semiconductor manufacturers will spend a record US$400 billion on computer chip-making equipment in 2025-2027, global industry association SEMI said in estimates published on Thursday, with China, South Korea and Taiwan leading the way.

Key drivers include extra demand for excess capacity in geographical regions amid US-China trade tensions, and demand for AI chips and related memory chips.

In a report, the association estimated that spending on equipment will grow by 24 per cent to US$123 billion in 2025.

Key equipment vendors include ASML of the Netherlands, Applied Materials, KLA and Lam Research of the US, and Tokyo Electron of Japan.