The semiconductor market should hit bottom in the first quarter of 2012, and is expected to begin climbing out of the trough afterwards, according to Bough Lin, chairman for Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL).
For SPIL and other chip packaging and testing firms, customer orders will improve starting February and strengthen further later in 2012, said Lin.
Lin also made a few remarks about the global economy.
Economic climate in 2012 may not be quite as bad as many think it is, Lin indicated. Events such as the Olympic Games and the US presidential election, which will both take place during the year, are seen as the potential drivers for the economic growth, Lin said.
Europe's debt crisis should have a less significant impact on the global business environment in 2012, Lin commented. Meanwhile, the economy in both Europe and the US is likely to stage a solid recovery this year, Lin believes.
Lin also expressed optimism about the overall demand outlook in China during 2012. The world's most populous economy will still be creating opportunities for businesses, Lin said.
In other news, in response to rival Advanced Semiconductor Engineering's (ASE) recent move to expand capacity for low pin-count packaging and other entry-level backend services in China and vie for orders from IDMs, Lin said SPIL continues to focus on the mid-range and high-end market segments and enhance its ties with fabless IC firms.