(Yicai Global) May 11 -- Shanghai's annual semiconductor conference has been postponed for the second time this year as the recent Covid-19 outbreaks bring much of the city to a standstill. But despite the challenges, many foreign market entities’ faith in the China market has not waivered.

SEMI China has delayed SEMICON/FPD China 2022, the world’s biggest gathering of integrated circuit leaders for the past decade, to Oct. 4 to Oct. 7, after previously pushing it back to June, Yicai Global learned.

The city-wide lockdown to control the rapid spread of the Omicron variant is now in its second month and has strangled production at many semiconductor manufacturers' plants, blocking deliveries and preventing staff from coming to work. But in the medium to long-run, plenty of global market entities have not lost confidence in the China market nor changed their investment plans.

Although the outbreaks affected Shanghai-based flash-based storage solution maker AccelStor Technologies' material supplies, in the long run they won’t affect the integrated circuit industry as a whole, Chair Xu Zhaoyuan told Yicai Global.

China will remain the world’s largest market and the startup plans to double its research and development team, increase R&D spending and hike marketing in the country as its overseas suppliers and clients remain upbeat about the China market, Xu said. China accounts for 80 percent of AccelStor’s sales, with other parts of Asia and Europe accounting for the rest.

Swiss robot maker ABB saw orders increase in China in the first quarter and the Zurich-based firm is optimistic about the development of the Chinese economy, Chairman Peter Voser said recently. China is making great efforts to automate some industries. It is therefore appropriate for ABB to participate in China's development, he added.

US engineering software firm Altair hasn't changed its investment plans in Shanghai or other Chinese cities, Liu Yuan, general manager of Altair China, told Yicai Global.

"We have been working from home for over two months," Liu said. "Our firm specializes in software and services so we are able to continue serving our clients online during lockdown. Only on-site visits are impacted."

"We have never stopped working. We are also preparing to hold an online launch event for the new 2022 editions of our software at the end of May. We have many vacant posts and are looking for staff," he added.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor