Survey: Singapore IC firms see recovery underway

Singapore's semiconductor industry association MIDAS said that the chip market in Singapore is on its way to recovery. A survey of leading IC companies conducted by MIDAS revealed that 70 percent of respondents see the recovery of the industry already starting to happen. The remaining member companies expect recovery happening later this year. Participants of the survey included member companies of MIDAS, representing a majority of the semiconductor companies in Singapore.

Ulf Schneider, president of MIDAS, said that most of the association members, comprising of companies in the semiconductor industry, are cautiously hopeful about the industry's outlook this year.

"Members of the semiconductor community are seeing signs of improvements following declines the last three quarters after the financial crisis. Our members have pointed to the Singapore government's impact on the industry to accelerate the recovery," Schneider said.

While polled MIDAS members recognized the positive impacts of Singapore government initiatives on the industry, member companies point to Singapore's incomplete electronics ecosystem, insufficient engineering talent and high costs as hindering its recovery.

Gartner has estimated that the current financial crisis will remove more than $25 billion from the semiconductor market in 2009.