Global sales of memory chips likely to climb _World Biz

Global sales of semiconductor equipment will probably rise more than previously forecast this year and next, an industry group said, as chip makers raise capacity to meet demand for memory chips in consumer electronics, Bloomberg News reported.

Sales of the manufacturing, testing and assembly machines will climb to US$42.1 billion in 2007, compared with the US$39.4 billion estimated in July, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International said in a statement in Tokyo yesterday.

"Memory chip demand," especially NAND flash, was most responsible for a forecast increase, Stanley Myers, SEMI president, said in Tokyo.

Applied Materials Inc, the world's biggest chip-gear maker, Tokyo Electron Ltd, the second-largest, and rivals are benefiting as customers such as Toshiba Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, spend more to keep up with demand for flash memory used in mobile phones and music players such as Apple Computer Inc's iPod.

Tokyo Electron last month said sales may gain 10 percent in the year to March 2008, its fifth straight year of revenue growth. Sales are expected to jump 23 percent this year, the Tokyo-based company has said.

N. America sales

Global chip equipment revenue will probably climb to US$40.6 billion this year, compared with an earlier projection for US$38.8 billion, the San Jose, California-based trade group said.

Sales in Japan, the largest and fastest-growing chip gear market, are likely to advance 5.7 percent to US$9.63 billion in 2007, from a projected US$9.11 billion in 2006, the trade group said. The North American market, the second-largest, may increase 3.6 percent to US$8.11 billion in 2007 from US$7.83 billion.

Equipment revenue may grow more slowly in 2007 than this year, as chip makers absorb capacity added in 2006, Myers said.

Sales in 2008 will probably expand 13 percent to US$47.8 billion yen, he said, compared with SEMI's July forecast for US$44.1 billion.

Tokyo Electron shares have gained 16 percent in the past 12 months, compared with a 5.1 percent advance on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.