DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Chinese battery-parts maker, African fund plan $2 billion venture in Morocco

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:48:09 GMT

CNGR Advanced Material Co., a Chinese maker of battery components, is joining forces with African private investment fund Al Mada to build an industrial base in Morocco.

Vietnam sees closer US economic ties post-diplomatic upgrade

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:47:50 GMT

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is pressing for closer economic and technological ties with the US during his trip to America a week after the two countries upgraded diplomatic ties.

Global high-end AI server shipments to soar in 2023, says DIGITIMES Research

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:22:29 GMT

DIGITIMES Research believes tight CoWoS capacity, which is needed for packaging HBM, will result in the supply of high-end AI servers falling short of demand by more than 35% in 2023, but high-end AI server shipments worldwide are still expected to grow fivefold from a year ago, according to the latest server report covering the AI server market.

LEO user terminals a major focus of Taiwan Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:06:56 GMT

The strategic importance of satellite communication, as demonstrated by Starlink during the war in Ukraine, has led to a surge of interest in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication in Taiwan.

Space lab startups Axiom, Vellon Space, Yuri visiting Taiwan for partnerships, connected by TAcc+

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:01:04 GMT

To align with global space industry development trends and establish comprehensive solutions for Taiwan's space industry, Taiwan Accelerator Plus (TAcc+), a Taiwanese government-sponsored startup accelerator has formed cooperation with international accelerators and organizations to invite overseas SpaceTech startups to visit Taiwan for a whole month, starting August 15.

Asia Supply Chain top 250 highlights new growth opportunities in EV and generative AI

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 07:40:31 GMT

With tensions between Washington and Beijing taking center stage, concerns emerged regarding the status of supply chains and the competitive landscape among various Asian countries. To gain a more profound understanding of this situation, DIGITIMES conducted the "Asia Supply Chain: ASC 250 Rankings," with a specific focus on the Asian ICT industry chain and an analysis of the operational performance of nearly 5,000 companies.

Taiwan, US delegations explore cybersecurity, 5G, EV cooperation and investment opportunities at Taipei forum

Willis Ke — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 07:16:50 GMT

A Taiwan-US supply chain partnership forum held in Taipei alongside the US Business Day on September 19 saw delegations of government and corporate representatives from both sides exploring investment and cooperation opportunities in the fields of cybersecurity, 5G communication and electric vehicles. Key American delegates included Laurie Locascio, director of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and concurrently the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, as well as Arizona governor Katie Hobbs and New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

China certifies new EV charging standard Chaoji co-developed with Japan

Peng Chen — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 07:03:19 GMT

Chaoji, a new EV charging standard developed by industry groups in China and Japan, has been certified by the Chinese government as a national standard.

Gotion rolls its first Europe-made battery off line, adding another plant soon

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 06:50:23 GMT

China-based battery manufacturer Gotion High-tech is poised to gain traction in the European market. The company recently launched its first battery product at its first European factory in Germany. It also aims to build another facility in Middle Europe with battery startup InoBat.

How Transsion managed to obtain more than 40% of Africa's smartphone market

Judy Lin — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 06:45:07 GMT

With a population of 1.4 billion and an annual demand for more than 200 million smartphones, Africa is a big market. However, few have asked why it is that Transsion, a Chinese brand, enjoys a near monopoly in this market. Why did the Taiwanese companies miss out on the opportunity?

India's oldest discrete semiconductor provider sets up ATMP lines

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 06:22:16 GMT

India-based Continental Device India (CDIL Semiconductors) announced a comeback in the semiconductor manufacturing business, with two ATMP lines expected on board. The oldest discrete semiconductor provider in India is looking to capitalize on the rising demand for electronics and a growing ecosystem in India.

Interview with Major-Power chairman Chin-Hsiang Yeh; discussing the company's venture into gaming keyboards

Jack Wu — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 06:15:00 GMT

In recent years, Dutch gaming keyboard brand Wooting has gained significant popularity worldwide, praised by influencers and gamers for having far better craftsmanship and functionality compared to traditional gaming brands. The Hall sensor used in Wooting's products comes from the Taiwanese IC design house Major-Power.

Samsung's NAND plant in China faces process upgrade dilemma; shifting capacity to power semiconductors could be viable solution

Willis Ke — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:52:18 GMT

As the US-China conflict continues to intensify, Samsung Electronics' NAND Flash plant in Xi'an, China, is increasingly stuck in a process upgrade dilemma. On the one hand, with the semiconductor market evolving, the plant should adopt more advanced process equipment to meet market demand, but on the other hand, Samsung is hesitant to make new investments in the fab due to US semiconductor sanctions against China.

How can drone players in Taiwan leverage local ICT prowess to outmaneuver Chinese supply chain?

Willis Ke — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:33:39 GMT

Taiwan's well-developed information and communication technology (ICT) industry has not only enabled supply chain players to grab business opportunities in the EV market, but also provide significant support to the drone industry. Many government agencies are actively planning relevant regulations and monitoring the Chinese supply chain and its impact on information security as part of their efforts to bolster Taiwan's drone industry and enhance its international influence in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) arena.

With stock market listing in October, Coplus aims to become "Apple of car mods"

Kevin Wang — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:14:00 GMT

Coplus has long been known as the "Apple of automobile lighting mods" with its industry leading design and R&D capacities. With V2X connectivity on the rise, Coplus plans to build connectivity into its components in two to three years with AI wheel lights, electronic rear view mirrors, and AI shock absorbers. In addition, the company will leverage big data to improve its design and manufacturing processes, as well as help users monitor component usage. Coplus is the first company from the Taiwan Innovative Board (TIB) initiative to file for stock market listing in 2023, and is expected to be listed in mid-October.

iPhone 15 preorders exceed expectations, driven largely by Pro models

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:02:33 GMT

Preorders for the iPhone 15 lineup have begun after Apple's latest launch event. Carriers and retailers have all noted higher-than-expected preorder volumes, the most popular being for the 256GB Pro and Pro Max models. With the launch of the iPhone 15 series, monthly smartphone sales are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels for the fourth quarter of this year, with shipments reaching 500,000 phones per month.

China strives to produce cell phone peripheral ICs locally

Julie Chang — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:57:51 GMT

Huawei's Mate 60 Pro has been shown to be equipped with only locally-produced SoCs and no peripheral chips from US-based companies. This revelation is part of the greater trend in China to source materials locally.

Chinese OSAT firms experience widespread financial downturn, anticipating rebound in 2024

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:31:11 GMT

Amid the downturn in the semiconductor industry, China-based major OSAT players are seeing a sharp drop in their growth, and some even witnessed net losses for the first half of the year. China-based OSAT companies expect recovery to arrive in 2024.

Equipment suppliers upbeat about demand generated by AI wave

Jessie Shen — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:28:25 GMT

Chipmaking and PCB production equipment suppliers are bullish on advanced chip demand as a result of a surge in AI servers and related products, according to industry sources.

Server cooling solution demand from China CSPs rising; TaiSol to benefit

Julie Chang — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:24:22 GMT

Because of the US chip ban and the shortage of Nvidia's GPUs, many China-based cloud service providers (CSPs) have turned to domestically produced chips with higher energy consumption that require stronger heat dissipation solutions, for their AI needs. This is thus bringing new business opportunities to China's local cooling solution providers, according to sources in the cooling solution business.

India sees rising demand for data centers

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:08:22 GMT

Thanks to rising internet subscribers and data consumption, as well as more enterprises migrating to cloud and government initiatives for Digital India, India rapidly emerges as one of the major data center hubs, witnessing increasing investments in the sector.

TSMC enters agreement with Saxony to foster semiconductor talent

Judy Lin — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:03:54 GMT

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd (TSMC) signed an agreement with the Saxon Science Liaison Office Taiwan and TU Dresden on September 19 in Taipei to address the semiconductor talent shortage problem in Europe and prepare for its future operations in Germany.

Taiwan OSATs step up SiPh deployment

Eifeh Strom — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 02:30:06 GMT

Taiwan-based OSATs, such as ASE Technology and Winstek Semiconductor, have stepped up their silicon photonics (SiPh) deployments and are evaluating its potential in furthering advanced packaging, according to industry sources.

Huawei steps up NAND flash procurement, say sources

Rodney Chan — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 02:18:51 GMT

Huawei has stepped up its NAND flash chip procurement for its smartphones, driving up the memory prices recently, according to industry sources.

Intel catching up in AI race, announcing Meteor Lake CPUs for PCs

Jessie Shen — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 01:52:01 GMT

At the ongoing Intel Innovation 2023 conference, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced a number of the company's important AI progress initiatives, including the upcoming launch of its 14th Gen Meteor Lake CPUs, which will power tens of millions of PCs due to ship next year.

Global 200mm fabs to reach record high capacity by 2026, says SEMI

DIGITIMES — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 01:36:15 GMT

Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide are projected to increase 200mm fab capacity by 14% from 2023 through 2026, adding 12 new 200mm fabs as the industry reaches a record high of more than 7.7 million wafers per month, according to SEMI.

Inspur announces investment in chip firm Yunsilicon

Rodney Chan — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 01:28:53 GMT

Chinese server vendor Inspur has announced its investment in Shanghai Yunsilicon Technology, a startup that develops and innovates cloud datacenter ASIC products.

Network IC manufacturers optimistic about infrastructure demand in India

Eifeh Strom — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 01:24:41 GMT

Taiwanese network IC suppliers are optimistic about demand from India, which requires extensive infrastructure upgrades as it solidifies its position as a key technology product manufacturing base, according to industry sources.

Why are NAND flash prices soaring?

Jessie Shen — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 01:20:56 GMT

The prices of NAND flash memory have experienced an unforeseen increase, occurring earlier than anticipated, according to industry sources.

Germany's Saxony to send interns to TSMC to foster chip talent

DIGITIMES — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:30:00 GMT

The German state of Saxony and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are working together on an exchange program that will bring Dresden students to Taiwan for internships in a push to foster chip talent.

TSMC and Arizona discussing advanced chip packaging investment

DIGITIMES — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:29:28 GMT

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Arizona authorities are talking about adding advanced chip packaging capacity to the chipmaker's plants in the state, Governor Katie Hobbs said in Taipei on Tuesday.

When geopolitical rivalry shapes global energy supply landscape

Vyra Wu — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:18:49 GMT

The Russo-Ukrainian War, extending beyond a year and a half, has resulted in a scarcity of natural gas supply, plunging several nations into an energy crisis. Experts highlight that due to geopolitical factors, there is a fundamental transformation in the global energy supply and demand landscape. This shift redirects the energy transition focus from achieving net-zero emissions to prioritizing security aspects.

Taiwan's energy storage sector cools down, shifting to the heated U.S. and Japanese markets

Vyra Wu — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:40:32 GMT

The energy storage sector can be categorized into front-the-meter (FTM) and behind-the-meter (BTM). FTM systems require large-scale energy storage setups, while BTM systems primarily focus on medium and small-scale solutions, with lithium-ion batteries remaining the preferred choice for chemical energy storage. In Taiwan, the energy storage market has cooled off due to unclear policies, but in the US and Japan, the markets are flourishing. This has spurred Taiwanese companies to actively seek international opportunities.

Automotive LED deliveries picking up as BMW adopts ambient lighting

Peng Chen — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:26:29 GMT

Automotive LEDs became the driving force of LED deliveries in the third quarter of this year. As more new cars are poised to be launched, suppliers are ramping up more actively. LED testing and packaging companies like Brightek Optoelectronic, Everlight and Edison Opto are all optimistic that the demand for automotive LEDs will stay on the growing track in the second half of 2023.

What is Taiwan's positioning in the new era of space exploration?

Vyra Wu — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 06:52:20 GMT

In the past, the forefront of space development was primarily occupied by governments. However, in recent years, there has been a gradual shift towards private enterprises taking the lead, ushering in a new era of commercialization in space exploration. A prime example is SpaceX, which currently manages a constellation of approximately 4,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, making it the global leader in satellite ownership among private companies and offering satellite services on a global scale.