SINGAPORE - Singapore is benefiting from the United States-China discord in at least one respect: semiconductor sales.
China imported US$407 million (S$548 million) worth of chipmaking machinery from Singapore in April, according to the latest Chinese Customs data. It was the highest amount since August 2022, rising 9.6 per cent from March and going against the wider trend of diminishing semiconductor exports to China. The country overall imported 27 per cent less in chipmaking gear during April than in 2022.
Singapore’s shipments to China of integrated circuit chips also increased 3.5 per cent in April compared with March. Other major suppliers from Asia all posted a drop in their chips export to the world’s second-largest economy, matching the trend with chip fabrication machinery.
Singapore aims to win its “fair share” of investments in semiconductor assembly and integrated circuit design, Dr Beh Swan Gin, then chairman of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, said in an interview in February. The world’s top tech and electronics companies are looking to diversify geographically – away from China and highly concentrated chipmaking hubs like Taiwan and South Korea – creating greater opportunity for places like Singapore.
Applied Materials makes chipmaking machinery in Singapore, while chipmakers with local bases include Soitec, GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is considering building a fabrication plant to churn out 12-inch silicon wafers in Singapore, as the country offers more tax incentives and subsidies on utilities costs, according to a report out of Taiwan. Suppliers to ASML Holding are also considering building plants in South-east Asia instead of China, Reuters reported in March.
With US-China tensions mounting, Singapore is willing to facilitate a dialogue between the two biggest economies to de-escalate rhetoric and help repair their relationship. “Singapore, as you know, has always wanted to do business with both,” Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in March. BLOOMBERG
