The E&E segment will remain a key growth driver in 2022 and is expected to expand in the region of 15% (18.2% in 2021) benefitting from the still-strong global semiconductor sales which are projected to grow by 13.6% (26.3% in 2021), Ambank said in a note.
It said that the key driver for the strong growth in this segment are the hike in the average selling price (ASP) due to the continued chip shortage which remains a concern in some sectors
“For instance, automotive applications are expected to experience component supply constraints — particularly in microcontrollers (MCUs), power management integrated circuits (PMICs), and voltage regulators — extending into 2023. Thus, they will continue to experience high ASPs,” the bank said
The bank said that the Automotive HPC, EV/HEV and advanced driver assistance systems will lead the growth in the automotive electronics sector, and it foresees a slower growth in PCs, smartphones and server end markets, it will gradually soften the growth of semiconductor revenue as semiconductor supply and demand strike a balance during 2022.
It said that the chip shortage will continue to be a concern for the supply chain of electronics equipment in 2022. It will have different effects in major electronic equipment markets depending on the semiconductor device types
Still, the semiconductor overall component supply constraints should ease gradually through 2022, the bank said and this would mean that prices would stabilize with the improving inventory situation. “And this would be reflected more in 2023,” AmBank said
Meanwhile, Ambank said that the migration to 5G is expected to spur growth as 5G smartphone unit production would surge by a whopping 45% in 2022, reaching 808 million units and representing 55% of all smartphones produced.
It said that the aggressive migration from 4G to 5G from major smartphone chipset vendors has temporarily led to a shortage in 4G system-on-chip integrated baseband ICs which began in 2H2021.
On the overall GDP growth for 2022, Ambank said that it maintains an overall GDP growth for 2022 at 5.6% with an upside of 6.0% and a downside of 4.8% with E&E remaining the key growth driver and is expected to play a major role in 2022.
It said that the other export-led sectors envisaged to improve in 2022 are palm oil, crude oil and pharmaceutical products. “Besides, both the consumer and construction-led sectors are poised to gain momentum as we move into 2022, reaping the benefits from the various measures introduced,” Ambank said.
