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[Taipei Report by Chang Han-chi, Times Reporter] Thailand is becoming a key hub for the next wave of high-end manufacturing in the electronics industry. According to a report, the demand for AI computing power is becoming a major driving force for the growth of the global PCB industry, accelerating high-end manufacturing and supply chain restructuring, bringing a new wave of growth opportunities to Thailand's industry and economy. However, although Thailand's PCB industry is expanding rapidly, its overall ecosystem still needs improvement. Currently, 46% of companies have a local sourcing ratio of less than 20%, indicating that local supply chain integration still needs to be strengthened.

Research firm Omdia has significantly raised its 2026 semiconductor revenue forecast, estimating a 62.7% increase, primarily driven by unprecedented growth in the memory market, including DRAM and NAND Flash.

SEMI forecasts that global spending on 12-inch wafer fab equipment will reach US$133 billion in 2026, an increase of 18%, and is expected to increase by another 14% in 2027, exceeding US$150 billion for the first time. Strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips from data centers and edge devices, coupled with increasing regional emphasis on semiconductor self-sufficiency, are the main driving forces.

The SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) recently released its "Global Semiconductor Equipment Market Report," which indicates that global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales will reach approximately US$135.1 billion in 2025, representing a 15% year-on-year increase. This growth is primarily driven by the continued expansion of advanced logic, memory, and AI-related capacity.

The Department of Industrial Technology, Ministry of Economic Affairs, has set up an Innovation Technology Pavilion at the Touch Taiwan series of exhibitions, "Electronics Manufacturing Equipment Exhibition," starting today (April 8), showcasing 14 key technologies focusing on advanced packaging and compound semiconductors. Among them, the Industrial Technology Research Institute's (ITRI) "Next-Generation Panel-Level Packaging Metallization Technology" has been implemented in the industry, successfully reducing process costs by approximately 30%.

The SEMI Silicon Photonics Industry Alliance held a forum today. SEMI Global Marketing Director and Taiwan President Tsao Shih-lun stated that 2026 is a crucial year for the large-scale deployment of silicon photonics technology, and overcoming the mass production bottleneck of optical interconnect technology has become the industry's most pressing issue.