Factbox: The Japanese chipmaking equipment manufacturers navigating export curbs

Lasertec

31/03/2023 05:14

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - Japan has seen its share of
the semiconductor market fall from 50% in the late 1980s to
about 10% but still hosts some of the most advanced chipmaking
equipment manufacturers, making it relevant to U.S. attempts to
curb technology exports to China.
    The United States in October imposed restrictions on
shipments of chipmaking tools to China to slow advances in its
chip industry and ultimately its military, and has been seeking
the cooperation of major chipmaking peers Netherlands and Japan.
    On Friday, Japan said it would restrict exports of 23 types
of chipmaking gear, though without specifying any country.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N36304U
    Equipment subject to the curbs includes tools for cleaning
and forming layers on the surface of silicon wafers, as well as
equipment used in production based on cutting-edge technology
known as extreme ultraviolet lithography.
    Here are some of Japan's leading manufacturers of tools used
to make semiconductors.
       
    TOKYO ELECTRON LTD  8035.T 
    Tokyo Electron is the world's third-largest supplier of
semiconductor manufacturing tools after Applied Materials Inc
 AMAT.O  of the United States and ASML Holdings NV  ASML.AS  of
the Netherlands. It also makes flat panel display-making gear.
    The firm in November slashed its sales forecast for the year
to March 2023 by 250 billion yen ($1.88 billion), or 10.6%, due
in part to tightening U.S. export curbs to China, though it
later raised its revenue outlook by 70 billion yen.
    In October-December, its chip equipment sales in China fell
22.3% from a year earlier to 102.7 billion yen, accounting for
22.4% of its total chip equipment sales in the quarter.
    
    ADVANTEST CORP  6857.T 
    Advantest is a chip-testing equipment maker, in competition
with U.S.-based Teradyne Inc  TER.O .
    China became the largest market for Advantest in
October-December, surpassing South Korea and Taiwan, with the
country accounting for 32.9% of global sales in the quarter.
    "We see little risk of U.S. export restrictions on China
directly preventing us from selling our testers," an Advantest
executive said in January.
    "However, we could potentially be indirectly impacted as
those restrictions put a halt to supplies of other companies'
production equipment, prompting our customers to revisit their
business plans," the executive said.
    
    SCREEN HOLDINGS CO LTD  7735.T  
    Screen is the world's largest manufacturer of equipment used
to clean silicon wafers. 
    The company expects shipments to China to make up 20% of
chipmaking equipment sales of 375 billion yen for the year to
March. 
    It has said sales to China could be affected by U.S. export
curbs, but that any decline will likely be covered by higher
demand from elsewhere.
      
    NIKON CORP  7731.T  
    Nikon produces deep ultraviolet lithography machines, the
second-most advanced systems used to create the minute circuitry
of chips after extreme ultraviolet machines.
    The Tokyo-based maker of cameras, healthcare products and
precision equipment earned about 28% of total sales in China for
the year ended March 2022. About 40% of sales from its
lithography machines business, which combines semiconductor
lithography and flat panel display lithography equipment, is
generated in China. 
    Chief Financial Officer Muneaki Tokunari told reporters at
an earnings briefing on Feb. 9 that Nikon will be closely
monitoring developments as the company exports a "certain
amount" of products to China.
    
    LASERTEC CORP  6920.T 
    Lasertec is the world's only maker of semiconductor
inspection equipment using extreme ultraviolet mask lithography
technology.
    More than 70% of the chip-measuring maker's revenue comes
from major chipmakers Intel Corp  INTC.O , Samsung Electronics
Co Ltd  005930.KS  and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd
 2330.TW . Chinese sales account for less than 10% of its global
sales.
    Lasertec said export curbs will have "a limited,
insignificant impact" on the company due to its small sales
volume in China.
    
($1 = 132.9300 yen)

 (Reporting by Mariko Katsumura, Kaori Kaneko, Eimi Yamamitsu
and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
 ((kiyoshi.takenaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4563 2788;))