Hewlett-Packard tops the list as the world's leading OEM buyer of semiconductors in 2003, according to iSuppli Corp. The company spent $9.8 billion in chip purchases last year while the runner up, Dell Inc., spent $8.4 billion.

The companies that increased their semiconductor spending by the highest percentages were Hitachi, Nokia, Samsung, Dell, HP and Motorola, which all hiked their purchases by double-digit percentages. The only company among the top 10 to decrease its semiconductor spending in 2003 was Siemens, with a 0.6 percent decline.

ISuppli said Dell and Hewlett-Packard both benefited from increasing spending by businesses and consumers on PCs, a phenomenon that boosted their production and sent their semiconductor purchasing in 2003 up by 21.1 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively.

By: DocMemory
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