SIA: Chip market to boom 15 percent in 1999, 20 percent in 2000

The worldwide semiconductor industry is expected to grow 15 percent this year, fueled by the proliferation of chips for communications and Internet infrastructure, an industry trade group said Wednesday. The Semiconductor Industry Association said Wednesday in its annual forecast that sales of the worldwide chip market will top $144 billion in 1999, as the industry enters its first sustained recovery since 1995. In 2000, the SIA forecasts that sales will jump 21 percent to $174 billion, with continued growth of 20 percent in 2001 to $209 billion and reaching a record high of $234 billion in 2002, with a gain of 12 percent. "This is the great year of recovery for the semiconductor industry," said Brian Halla, chairman, president and chief executive of National Semiconductor Corp., in a statement. -- Reuters