SAN FRANCISCO—India is expected to be the fastest growing market in terms of semiconductor assumption in 2012, according to market research firm Gartner Inc.
India's chip consumption is projected to rise to $9.2 billion in 2012, up 20 percent from 2011, Gartner said.
"Semiconductor consumption in India is being driven from the changing demographics, increasing consumer affluence, economic growth and favorable government policy," said Ganesh Ramamoorthy, research director at Gartner, in a statement.
Ramamoorthy noted that global electronic equipment manufacturers continue to expand their production facilities in India and said the recent announcement that handset maker Nokia will move its production facilities to the Asia-Pacific region is bound to benefit India, where Nokia already has a large production facility. "As a result, semiconductor consumption is set to grow at a rapid pace," Ramamoorthy said.
Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) projects that global semiconductor spending will reach $316 billion in 2012, a 4 percent increase from 2011, with mobile phones, media tablets, PCs, servers, LCD TVs, solid state drives and set-top boxes expected to account for nearly 50 percent of the total semiconductor consumption.
In India, mobile phones, PCs and LCD TVs will account for nearly three-fourths of India's semiconductor consumption in 2012, Gartner predicted.
"The improving consumer sentiment on the back of strong domestic economic growth and rising disposable income should prove 2012 a strong year for semiconductor consumption in India," Ramamoorthy said.