Approximately US$6.5 billion of Samsung Electronics' 2012 capex budget is dedicated to logic ICs, according to IC Insights. The remaining US$5.7 billion of Samsung's capex budget will be applied to the production of memory ICs, with a good portion of the funding likely to be used to boost capacity for NAND flash memory, said the market researcher.

Samsung currently has a lucrative business serving as Apple's foundry partner for the A4 and A5 application processors used in iPad tablet computers, iPhones and iPod touch devices. Besides serving as a foundry partner for Apple, Samsung is aggressively ramping its in-house application processor business as demand increases for its smartphones, tablet PCs, and other mobile/media related devices.

Intel's capex is forecast to be US$12.5 billion in 2012, retaining its lead in capital expenditures in the global chip sector, IC Insights observed. The company plans to begin 14nm production in Chandler, AZ, when that fab opens in 2013. The new Hillsboro, OR facility will focus on process development using 450mm wafers when it begins operations in 2013. Meanwhile, several fabs will begin 22nm production of x86 processors in the second half of 2012.

Additionally, Intel is making a concerted effort to expand its processor presence in the market for smartphones and media devices, IC Insights indicated. Moreover, the company's Ultrabook initiative has piqued consumer interest and is likely to create additional demand for the company's processors in the second half of 2012.

Intel's and Samsung's planned 2012 capex reveal there is, and will be, wide and growing separation between these two companies and their competition, IC Insights noted. Intel and Samsung are each forecast to more than double the 2012 capex spending of TSMC, the next largest supplier, which has budgeted US$6 billion in capex. Combined, the three companies are forecast to account for about half of the total semiconductor capex spending in 2012.