After years trying to make the best of a rather bad situation by talking up the chip market, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has at last got some good news for its members. According to the SIA, turnover in the chip business will rise by 15 per cent this year to deliver an incredible $144 billion of sales. And by 2002, the total amount of sales will amount to $234 billion. The SIA said that the growth is fuelled by wireless communication, including mobile phones, and the rapid growth of the Internet. The group had been less bullish when it issued its last report in June, but sales are better than it expected, partly due to high amounts of PC production. The SIA said that it has at last exceeded its previous record set in 1995. At that time, the anticipated sales of memories related to the introduction of Windows 95 did not materialise, and that led to a slump in the market. ®