Workers produce chips at a semiconductor manufacturing company in Binzhou, China, on June 4, 2024.
Noor Photo | Noor Photo | Getty Images
BEIJING — The share of revenue from China for the world’s four largest semiconductor equipment makers, including ASML, is set to more than double from the second half of 2022 onwards, analysts at Bank of America said in a report on Monday.
“China has accelerated its purchases of semiconductor manufacturing equipment with the aim of developing its own semiconductor manufacturing capabilities since the United States tightened export controls in October 2022,” the report noted.
BofA’s analysis included Lam Research, ASML, KLA Corporation and Applied Materials.
According to the survey, the companies’ revenue from China will more than double from 17% of their total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 41% in the first quarter of 2024.
“High technology, particularly semiconductors, is at the heart of trade tensions with China and could be at increased risk if tensions escalate further,” the report said.
The United States will begin imposing sweeping export controls on sales of advanced semiconductors and related manufacturing equipment to China in October 2022, Bloomberg reported last week, citing sources. The Biden administration is considering broader restrictions on semiconductor equipment exports to China that could affect companies outside the United States.
Beijing, meanwhile, is seeking to become more self-sufficient in technology, a goal that top leaders reaffirmed at a key policy meeting last week.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), which tracks U.S.-listed semiconductor companies, fell last week but remains up about 46% so far this year.
