The letter, which went out to all previous advertisers of SMM, stresses the importance of continuing or, in many cases, starting advertising with them, to the China chip industry. SI, as many will know, produces a Chinese version of its monthly magazine.

I had noted in the last blog on this subject that the press release last week, announcing the end of SMM and the deal with SI, made no reference to SMM China. It would seem that SEMI can't quite get out of the publishing game and renders the Reed deal a little strange, to say the least!

The other SEMI news, though it's not yet ‘official', is the fact that in their wisdom and apparently without the involvement of many of their members/exhibitors, SEMICON Europa has been moved next year to Stuttgart, Germany and will scheduled for early October rather than April.

The move is controversial for several reasons. Europa is being moved as it is too close to the China event, even though China has a fraction of the new tool revenues seen in Europa. Indeed, China, according to SEMI's own data, has seen equipment sales fall off in 2005 and will not recover to the $1.9 billion levels set in 2004 until the end of 2008. Only one 300mm fab is currently in production in China, compared to FOUR in Europe.

Of course much of SEMI's devotion to China is based on the ever-present hype over its ‘potential' for growth. Yes, the back-end fabs have long been migrating to the cheapest wage region of the world, but front-end fab wages make up one of smallest fixed cost aspects, so the migration simply hasn't happened.

Even though the front-end is growing in China, it is still far smaller than the European market for both 200mm and 300mm fabs. Further more Europe has a growing MEM's, Opto and nano industry that piggybacks the chip sector.

SEMI seems to be happy to move Europa around at will and without confirmation of when and where for 2008, continues to cast doubt over its future.

As SEMI dominates the equipment trade show sector on a world-wide basis but is happy to demote Europa's importance in the over crowded SEMICON schedules, the event could be in serious trouble. Although many exhibitors think the same as SEMI, that the Asian market and in particular China is the promised land, Europa now seems to lack the support from both sides.

However, there are a larger number of Europa exhibitors that feel the show has not been properly supported for some years and, with the emergence of MEM's, for instance, the event is evolving organically. SEMI, perhaps, is also fearing that another event organisation, media company or association could actually stage their own trade event and actually do it better they have in recent years!

Europa may be in doubt but Europe is still in business.