TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Orders for Japanese-made semiconductor-manufacturing equipment placed by domestic and overseas chipmakers in October logged the first rise since February 2007, as chipmakers began updating their facilities in view of recovering demand, an industry body said Monday.
The value of the orders rose 66 percent in the reporting month from a year earlier to about 65 billion yen, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said.
Sales of the equipment also increased about 8 percent to some 47.8 billion yen, marking the first rise in 23 months.
After slacking due to oversupply in the chip market and the global financial crisis, demand for semiconductors has recovered due to the spread of digital electronics appliances to emerging economies and increased shipments for new personal computers, which was partly stimulated by the release of Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 operating system, the association said.
Chipmakers had refrained from spending in updating their manufacturing facilities, but "orders have been on the rise since they hit bottom in February this year, and we see Taiwanese makers are particularly spending actively as their memory chips are selling well," an association official said.
