Fitch Ratings, one of the three largest financial credit rating agencies in the world, has just issued a warning about the semiconductor industry of three Asian economies, South Korea, Taiwan (China) and Japan, facing the risk of energy shortages.
Notably, these markets also revealed different levels of vulnerability to the risk of helium supply disruptions amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Helium gas is a byproduct obtained from natural gas extraction. In the production of semiconductors, factories are required to use this type of gas for ultra-clean cooling, leak detection and inert protective film.
According to industry data, Qatar currently controls about 30-38% of global helium supply. This huge proportion turns the Gulf nation into a vital link for leading chip casting centers in Asia.
The dependence is most clearly revealed in South Korea and Taiwan (China), where technology companies are concentrated with the demand for industrial gas consumption constantly increasing.
However, this supply chain is shaking violently. US and Israeli attacks on Iran recently have directly disrupted the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Qatar.
Not stopping there, fighting also seriously hinders goods flow through the Strait of Hormuz. This most important energy bottleneck in the world has now fallen into a state of paralysis.
Looking broadly at the entire market, the disruption of supply from the Middle East creates an extremely difficult problem for the chip industry. Whether the US or Russia also exploit helium, these suppliers cannot immediately increase their capacity dramatically to fill the void left by Qatar.
Analysts worry that if the maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz continues to freeze, the global semiconductor production chain will be affected in a chain reaction, thereby pushing up the prices of electronic devices in the near future.
