Yicai Global: ASML China will focus on maintenance and service

(JW Insights) Nov 1 -- The Chinese business of ASML will focus on maintenance and service in the future, according to the president of the Dutch lithography machine giant's China arm, reported Yicai Global on November 1.

ASML China will further its presence in the repair, service, and product development fields, said Shen Bo, who is also the senior vice president of ASML. The company's Chinese business will also hike recruitment in these fields in the upcoming two years.

Because of the strong demand, ASML has EUR35 billion ($37 billion) worth of orders accumulated from 2021 and last year that have not yet been completed, many of which are from China, Shen noted.

With the rapid development of home appliances, new energy vehicles, and solar cell industries, the Chinese market has a strong demand for semiconductor products with mature processes, and ASML has shown a relatively open attitude, Shen added. Driven by market demand, achieving a competitive level of mature process chips will help promote the Chinese industry to improve its input-output ratio, he pointed out, reported Yicai Global.

"In the field of mature manufacturing processes, the Chinese market still needs a lot of work to achieve a very competitive level globally," he said. "Especially in the current environment, all reaches of the supply chain need to work together."

Chinese semiconductor firms should participate in global competition, Shen stressed. "No company in the semiconductor industry can be said to be purely local, as all of them should participate in global competition," Shen noted. "To evaluate if a company is doing well, it must have the ability to compete globally."

Shen also suggested that China build a platform similar to the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre in Belgium to facilitate systematic communication with the industry.

ASML entered the Chinese market in 1998. Since then, its installed capacity of lithography and measurement machines in the country has reached nearly 1,4000 units. ASML will participate in the upcoming sixth China International Import Expo for the fifth time, according to the Yicai Global report.

(Li PP)