Huawei Technologies Co.'s Kirin 9000s processor supports 5G wireless speeds, TechInsights said, dispelling some of the mystery around the Chinese company's latest devices.

The Japanese and Canadian governments signed an EV battery supply-chain agreement. Simultaneously, Panasonic's battery arm, Panasonic Energy, announced that it will work with Canada-based graphite producer Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) to make anode materials for EV batteries.

Second-quarter 2023 smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China-based brand vendors amounted to 132 million units, growing 10% from the prior quarter but plunging 33.4% from the prior year, and will rise further in the third quarter, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest China smartphone AP report.

France announced new eligibility for its EV subsidy program that will likely rule out China-made vehicles. The move came after the European Commission's launch of an investigation. Chinese EV leaders asked Europe to be open and form a multilateral trade system.

SKC, the specialized materials manufacturer under the SK Group is poised to invest in Chipletz, a US IC packaging startup, to enhance its capability in IC packaging.

Toyota unveiled its production lines of full-solid-state and LFP batteries in September. According to Japan-based Sankei, Motor Fan and Toyota, the carmaker is developing full-solid-state batteries at the Teiho plant in Teihocho, Japan.

TSMC's construction of a new wafer fab in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, has revitalized the once-declining "Kyushu Silicon Island" concept, but water and renewable energy infrastructure required for the fab must be sufficient to support the resurrection of Kyushu as a silicon island. In this regard, the Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), a TSMC joint venture with Sony and Denso to manage the fab, has decided to reduce groundwater consumption by 30% and increase water recycling rate to 75% to avoid excessive groundwater extraction while also securing sufficient water supply.

With the increased prevalence of generative AI, the demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is rapidly rising, leading to heightened competition in stacking. For HBMs, a higher stack means the capability to process more data. Currently, major HBM products feature 8-layer stacking, with 12-layer stacking expected to enter mass production soon.

After Dell's de-Sinicization and Marvell's China team was completely laid off, Qualcomm also couldn't hold on. Reports emerge that a large-scale layoff is planned at Qualcomm's Shanghai R&D center in October.

DIGITIMES unveiled its Asia Supply Chain (ASC) 250 rankings survey and organized a launch event that featured Johnny Hsu, the product planning manager of Sime Darby KIA Taiwan (Kia), and Chia-Ying Chun, the director of tax services for Southeast Asia and India at PwC. They shared their insights into the electric vehicle (EV) market and the strategic placement of Taiwanese corporates.

On September 20th, Huawei held its annual conference with the theme "Accelerating Industry Intelligence." Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO and acting chairwoman, emphasized in her speech that Huawei is committed to build the foundation of China's computing power, and provide the computing power, platforms, and various research tools for large language models (LLMs) in China.

As the demand for memory chips remains sluggish, it is estimated that in the third quarter of 2023, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix may still face the possibility of losses, even though there is some improvement in the semiconductor industry. The South Korean securities industry predicts that both Korean manufacturers may have to wait until the first quarter of 2024 to fully emerge from the memory industry's winter.

Europe has launched an anti-subsidy investigation on China-made EVs after announcing the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and Batteries Regulation. The act will likely impact China-based battery makers and benefit their South Korean competitors. European carmakers are expected to use more South Korean batteries in the coming years.

Although RISC-V currently has a low market share, industry sources have observed that automakers are embracing it, and the Chinese market for RISC-V automotive-grade MCUs has significant growth potential.

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.