Taiwan-based OSATs with manufacturing sites in China, such as King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) and ASE Group, have quietly ramped up their capacity supports for China-based clients including HiSilicon, Oppo, and Unisoc, according to industry sources.
HiSilicon suffered greatly from the initial US ban in 2019 but has since regrouped and started using mature process chips.
China-based semiconductor companies have since moved to become more self-sufficient. HiSilicon is still working with Taiwan-based OSATs such as ASE Group and KYEC, as well as testing interface companies Chunghwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT), WinWay Tech, and MPI, just on a lesser scale.
Oppo subsidiary Zeku Technologies is also moving toward high-end chips, developing its own image signal processor (ISP) and high-level system on a chip (SoC).
Sources said that Huawei group still has some previously ordered wafer inventory on-hand, but is quietly working on its own mature process consumer chips and security chips.
It was previously reported that HiSilicon was in discussion with TSMC advanced packaging employees, but many went to China's leading OSAT JCET Group. JCET has been continuously improving its advanced packaging technologies and is a competitor to ASE.
Some in the industry believe that despite the ongoing conflict between the US and China, US bans are unlikely to completely hinder the autonomy of China's semiconductor industry.
Huawei has reportedly licensed 5G-related patented technology to Oppo, which is just another way of China advancing its own semiconductor industry.
