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BEIJING – China's IC output numbered 19.74 billion for the first half of the year, up 15.2% year-over-year, according to China's CCID Consulting.

Sales revenues totaled $8 billion, up 33.2% year-over-year, CCID says. However, this represents a fallback from the 48% growth in the first half of last year.

''China's IC industry will … enter a relatively stable development cycle,'' according to the firm. CCID says growth will drop to around 30% for the year, while sales revenues are expected to remain around $17.3 billion.

By the end of the year, China 's IC revenue is expected to account for more than 8% of the global industry, according to the firm.

SEOUL – A power outage at Samsung Electronics's manufacturing plant near Seoul forced a shutdown of several production lines; this could result in a slight decline in the supply of memory, published reports say.

The company said its Kiheung complex lost power after a malfunction at a transformer substation. A Samsung spokesperson said six of the 11 lines were shut down.

Samsung reported the factory would be back up to production within two days, but didn’t state the impact of lost time.

Samsung has 44% of the market share of memory chips, says iSuppli. The plant makes DRAM and NAND flash chips, used in portable devices.

Samsung estimates a loss of 15% for the third quarter; this could mean an 8% to 10% decline in memory for the overall market, triggering price increases, Samsung believes.

MUMBAI, INDIA – Haier’s India announced the acquisition of electronics manufacturer Daewoo Anchor Electronics.

India’s Daewoo Anchor, with 40 acres in Ranjangaon, Pune, will give Haier, the $13 billion Chinese manufacturer, access to manufacturing capability of TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines. Haier plans to upgrade the facility and create an R & D facility for its refrigerator range.

The capacity of the facility is estimated at 35,000 units. Haier will begin operating in two shifts. The facility is expected to house more than 500 workers at the onset.

Shi Zhiyuan, managing director, Haier Appliances (India), said, “Haier’s target is to become one of the prominent players in the Indian market in a few years.”

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Component manufacturer Kemet Corp. announced its acquisition of Arcotronics Italia S.p.A, agreeing to pay $24 million.

SHENZHEN – SMTA China announced it will sponsor the upcoming SMTA China South Conference 2007. Reed Exhibitions will support the conference in conjunction with the Nepcon China 2007 exhibition at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center.

It is scheduled to take place Aug. 27-30 in Shenzhen, China.

This event will feature technical papers, workshops and training sessions, as well as the Emerging Technologies Summit and three symposia across seven tracks: manufacturing and assembly, advanced packaging, substrates, soldering, test/inspection/quality, process Control, and contract manufacturing/business issues.

Conference topics include 01005 assembly, 3-D system in package (SiP), package on package (PoP), Pb-free reliability, component supply integrity, legal responsibility of non-RoHS part/product entering Europe, materials and process characterization, and flex circuit assembly.

For more information and to register, contact Peggy Chen at +86-21-5609-3010 or peggy@smta.org.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – iSuppli Corp. has announced a free Webinar on the PMP/MP3 market. Time to Grow Up and Face the Music will take place Aug. 15 at 11:30 am EST.

Chris Crotty, senior analyst for consumer platforms at iSuppli will discuss market share figures for PMP/MP3 makers and their semiconductor suppliers; shipment and revenue forecasts, including media and product mix outlooks; market drivers; whether a viable challenger to Apple will ever arise, and the latest retailer and consumer demographic data.

The Webinar will answer such questions as, Will NAND flash be capable of meeting the storage needs of video-capable productions? Will PMP/MP3 makers be able to source sufficient supplies of NAND-type flash memory for their data storage needs? Can PMP/MP3 controller vendors continue to endure severe price erosion for their products? Which new technologies will help maintain the momentum of PMP/MP3 player sales?

The increasing pervasiveness of broadband connectivity, the rising availability of content, and the continued reductions in component costs have contributed to the portable media player and MP3 player markets becoming the fastest growing segments of the consumer electronics market today, says iSuppli.

Although Apple Inc. gets the lion’s share of attention in the PMP/MP3 player market, the market is highly fragmented, with about 100 product manufacturers supplying both OEMs and their own brands, says the research firm.

During the next few years, the number of companies in the business is likely to dwindle, as the less competitive players are acquired or are squeezed out of the market entirely, believes iSuppli.