As this book goes to press, the newly created semiconductor industries of East Asia are emerging from an extraordinarily demanding series of tests. They have been forced to endure the damaging effects of a world semiconductor industry downturn, which has seen prices and output for chip products, and in particular for memory chips, drop precipitately in 1996 and 1997. Leading firms in Europe and the US were forced to withdraw from the memory chips industry as a result of this downturn. In addition to this, the East Asian semiconductor firms have been subjected to the trials of the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and 1998, which saw some of the more indebted firms in the region topple. Each crisis on its own would have been a severe test for firms newly established in one of the most fast-moving and competitive industries in the world. Coming together, they subjected the semiconductor industries in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia to an unprecedented trial of their organisational strength. That they have survived at all, let alone come through this process without major bankruptcies or exits (albeit with some industry consolidation), is a testament to their sustainability.

Now, in mid-1999, the signs are clear that the world semiconductor industry is growing again, and looks set for sustained growth in the twenty-first century. The semiconductor firms established in East Asia over the course of the past two decades, which have been investing heavily even during the depths of this recent industry downturn and Asian financial crisis, have every opportunity to ride a new wave of prosperity.