Chartered Semiconductor, the custom chip manufacturer, warned yesterday that next year's sales and profits would not meet expectations.

The company blamed falling demand in the PC and cellular phone market for its revised forecasts. It had expected sales to rise by 40 per cent over the next year and, despite issuing the warning, would not say by how much it expected this figure to fall.

The company's shares fell below their IPO price for the first time, losing over seven per cent of their value on the back of the news.

Rival company Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing also said that capacity will exceed demand at the beginning of the year, rendering some parts of its plant idle. ®

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