China's largest IC and semiconductor design event will come to Chengdu for the first time in February. Mark A. Saunderson, president of Electronics Business Unit, Global Sources, a company with a history of 36 successful years of facilitating global trade, revealed on January 9 that eight of the world's top ten semiconductor companies, including Intel, Samsung and Toshiba, will exhibit at the upcoming International IC-China Conference & Exhibition ("IIC-China").

Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone and Global Sources Strike Partnership Agreement

A partnership agreement was signed that day between Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone and Global Sources. The inaugural IIC-China in Chengdu is scheduled to be held at Chengdu Century City New International Convention & Exposition Center from Feb. 28-29, 2008. Saunderson revealed that more than 400 leading high-tech suppliers will be showcasing their latest IC designs and technologies at this year events. "We expect a total of over 1,300 booths, a growth of 30% compared to 2007. Besides, engineers visiting the Chengdu exhibition will exceed 30,000," Saunderson added. He said the exhibition has attracted eight of the world's top ten semiconductor companies, including Intel, Freescale, Samsung, Toshiba, Taxas Instruments.

According to Saunderson, it has a special meaning for selecting Chengdu, the fourth biggest electronics manufacturing hub in China, to host IIC-China. "Chengdu is the rising star in the IC design industry. As the fourth electronic manufacturing hub and one of the country's major IC design centers, Chengdu now boasts over 50 IC companies and is the OEM base for a number of international top enterprises. That makes Chengdu an ideal location for our exhibition."

Management Committee of Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone Deputy Director, Fu Xuekun told our reporter that they knew last year of Global Sources' intention to host the event in Chengdu."After active discussions and communications, we reached agreement on cooperation". Fu thinks Chengdu's electronics industry development has matured and it has every part in the production chain. "When enterprises grow to a certain level, they need a platform like an exhibition that will be held at home and help them understand the latest trends and developments of the industry quickly and at a low cost. The exhibition will also be a good opportunity for the Management Committee of Chengdu Hi-tech Zone to gather suggestions and opinions from the industry for inspirations to our future development. Furthermore, We'd like to promote the Hi-Tech Zone to the exhibiting enterprises, which is key to laying a good foundation for future co-operations with them."

China is reported to be the biggest purchasing country of semiconductors. A Taiwan research company estimates that in the coming two years, demand for the semiconductor will exceed 100 billion US dollars in value. Experts in the industry predict that while China's IC production capacity is fast growing, 89% of the IC products still need imported technology.