The biggest chip maker in China, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), has announced that it hopes to post a sales increase of as much as 20 per cent this year.
Chief executive officer David Wang said the firm is expected to post "strong" growth in the second quarter following a sales drop in the three months to March 31st.
Indeed, he confirmed that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp aims to increase full-year sales 15 per cent to 20 per cent.
Mr Wang observed that the firm is getting more orders for products that are used in wireless connectivity devices.
He added that more customers are switching to the company's 65-nanometer production lines from older chip-fabrication technologies.
Meanwhile, new research has found that global semiconductor inventories have surged to the highest level in two-and-a-half-years.
Inventories are just about where they were before the onset of the last chip downturn, the research confirmed.
Market researcher IHS iSuppli warned that inventories will become a big concern if chip sales growth slows down.