SMIC says AI chip supply chain will remain tight through 2027

By Che Pan and Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China's biggest contract chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp 0981.HK (SMIC), said on Friday that the artificial intelligence industry was still in its early stages and demand remained strong.

The comment came in response to a question about whether AI stocks were forming a bubble.

• Many customers that need computing resources still face shortages, Zhao said

• The semiconductor supply chain for AI-related applications will stay tight through 2027 on demand from data centres and private clouds, Zhao said

• Memory chip supply and demand should reach balance toward the middle to end of 2028, Zhao said

• SMIC expects full-year revenue to exceed $1.2 billion as its capacity utilization rate continues to rise

• The company faces longer lead times for equipment, with some orders taking more than 24 months to deliver, which would affect its capital spending this year

• SMIC's depreciation expense will rise about 30% year-on-year in 2026, Zhao said