The factory construction of domestic mainstream semiconductor manufacturers should be monitored. wafer prober Heping has tracked 74 semiconductor manufacturers (including foreign-invested firms) as of the first half of 2022, including SMIC, SK Hynix, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. These companies have 311 factories with construction, construction or completion records, of which 48 are under construction, 40 are new, and 223 have been completed.

In terms of sub-industries, wafer foundries are the largest, followed by raw material suppliers, probe test and packaging and testing plants and discrete devices manufacturers are third or fourth.

Plants manufacturing semiconductors by industry segment

In terms of planned production capacity, the main monitoring object is the lowest monthly fab output, followed by 100,000 to 200,000 fab output, and more than 200,000 fab output, only single digits.

Regarding their regional distribution, China's semiconductor manufacturing plants are primarily concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta. This area heavily hosts factories in Jiangsu (69), Zhejiang (39), and Shanghai (27). wafer probing Anhui province, which borders these three areas, also houses 29 factories, while Beijing and Fujian have 21 and 26 factories respectively. As we previously explored in our article "Don't worry, Let the bullets Fly for a Manufacturing Revival," the Yangtze River Delta has proven to be a highly sought-after region for industry development.

Despite the efforts made, the global chip shortage remains unresolved. Domestic investment in new and expanded fabs is robust, yet with it comes a significant delivery pressure on wafer manufacturing equipment manufacturers. As a result, the expected acceleration of wafer production capacity has not been achieved. In 2021, major foundries have announced plans for new capacity projects, such as SMIC's SMIC Capital and SMIC Lingang Projects. According to Miro Industry's prediction, China's wafer production capacity will reach 5.86 million by the end of 2024, further increasing its share in the global market and potentially surpassing 20%.