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16 SMT Magazine • December 2014 To foreign companies, these goals bear a plethora of business implications. I see specific opportunities in individual areas and industry sectors. For Chinese companies, iconic branding is a dream come true. Many have gained under- standing on what it takes to globalize through the thoroughly planned strategy executed re- lentlessly over sustainable years—Samsung and Singapore Airlines are two admirable models. As more indigenous companies aspire to be a global brand, more global competition in all in- dustry sectors is in the works." What Happened in 2014: China's growth rate in 2014 was the slowest in five years, yet still above 7.2%. Their GDP tar- get was around 7.5% and a figure slightly below this is acceptable to Beijing. It looks like it will finish the year with 7.2%, plus or minus 0.2%. The country is moving from an investment to a consumption economy. A weaker yuan has flooded the financial system with cash, but it is expected to be transitory. China started work- ing on the next Five-Year Plan (2016–2020)— specifically refining its original technologies and weeding out corruption. Alibaba made history by listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and becom- ing the biggest IPO in history with a value of $25 billion. As one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, the company is not a Chinese company any more, rather spreading its influence around the world by indeed be- coming a global brand. eLecTrONIcS INdUSTrY— HArdWAre From January 2014 Outlook: "Five words cover the essence of electronics hardware: smart, mobility, connectivity, wear- ability and innovation. Technology never holds still. Technology advances will prop further mo- bility and connectivity in 2014. The growth and volume of electronics hardware will be driven by mobile devices, and high-reliability and high-performance electronics will propel new materials innovation. In semiconductor sector, Intel, the top captive semiconductor manufac- turer since its inception, made an astounding announcement that the company will open up its fab factories to outside business, serving as foundries as well. The company will compete head-on with other giants, such as Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Compa- ny (TSMC). Its unprecedented strategy of giving up its long-standing captive status will change the dynamic of foundries business among the top players, and may spill over to the industry. In manufacturing technology, 28 nm node has demonstrated high yield and low-cost manufacturing. Samsung and TSMC reportedly will use the 20 nm node technology to manu- facture Apple chips in 2014. Additionally, the manufacturing prowess in 14 nm node will be unveiled by Intel. As the 20 nm is being estab- lished, 2014 is also the year to lay the ground work for developing 10 nm capability on 450 mm wafers. Building chips on 450 mm wafers in volume production is moving forward by both OEMs and foundry manufacturers. Estab- lishing 450 mm wafers are a major technologi- cal move, so is to further shrink transistors be- low 20 nm. These plans and commitments will lead to further advances in the chip industry to deliver increased functionalities and reduced cost in electronic and optoelectronic products that serve abroad spectrum of industries. In the wafer fab equipment market, a year-over-year growth rate of more than 30% brings 2014 to the projected spending of $39.5 billion. In op- toelectronics, new materials for LEDs, such as gallium nitride-on-silicon, is expected to see market penetration in 2014. As ICs move to 20 nm and below, a continuing effort to make the next levels of connections to reach the end-use products calls for new designs and new materi- als in the second level IC packages and the third level connection in PCBs. In 2014, major new thrusts are not in sight for the second and third levels of inter-con- nections, yet activities are abundant that offer gradual technological advances, including op- tical inter-connections, embedded devices and printed electronics. The development in high- density packages, including 3D packages, sys- tem-in-package and BTC packages will contin- ue. Overcoming the design and manufacturing 2014: YeAr-eNd revIeW continues SMT proSpECTS & pErSpECTivES