China dominates H1 chip tool spending

Spending 25 billion dollars in the first six months of 2024, China purchased more semiconductor manufacturing equipment than South Korea, Taiwan and the US combined, according to data published by Semi. “We’re seeing China continue to buy all the equipment they can for their new mature-node chipmaking facilities," Semi senior director of market intelligence Clark Tseng told Nikkei. “Concerns over potential further export control restrictions also pushed them to pull in and secure more equipment they could buy in advance.”

The data mirrors ASML’s geographical sales distribution in the first half of the year, in which China’s share was exceptionally high at almost 50 percent, up from 29 percent in 2023. As such, Chinese chipmakers kept ASML’s sales up while customers elsewhere remain cautious as the industry grapples with sluggish recovery in many end markets. A notable exception is AI silicon, demand for which has continued driving equipment sales as well.

In response to reports that the Netherlands might introduce additional restrictions on ASML’s service and maintenance operations, the Chinese government has issued veiled threats to cut off ASML from the Chinese market entirely. “China will double its efforts to fully resolve the technical issues of high-end chip production. For those companies that follow the US in containing China, it will be challenging to return once they lose the Chinese market,” the Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, wrote.