In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung Electronics successfully turned a profit in its semiconductor business due to increased demand for AI-related memory. Coupled with the sales growth of the Galaxy S24 series, the outstanding performances from these two sectors led to a revenue return to the KRW70 trillion level (approx. US$50.85 billion) after 5 quarters.
Many Chinese semiconductor firms have told customers they are raising prices due to rising costs of precious metals, such as gold and copper, according to industry sources.
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia view software as a crucial element of their future development. The pair targets China's fast-growing connected vehicle market and will collaborate with local tech giant Baidu.
Amid sluggish iPhone sales, Samsung Electronics and Chinese smartphone brands have begun to take advantage of this gap and expand their inventory of smartphones and OLEDs to seize market shares. This drove the utilization rates of OLED production lines for mid-to-low-end smartphones at Samsung Display (SDC), BOE, TCL CSOT, and other manufacturers.
Notebook production in Vietnam has increased dramatically, making the country the second largest source of imports to the US behind China, according to government sources.
Government sources indicate that the proportion of servers imported from China to the US declined from 18.8% in 2017 to 1.7% in 2023, based on trade dynamics over the past five years.
Hyundai Motor and Kia achieved outstanding financial performance in the first quarter of 2024 while facing challenges such as soft battery EV growth, high interest rates, and geopolitics. Hyundai plans to expand hybrid EV production, which contributed significantly to its sales.
Major telecom equipment companies are now bracing for a gloomy 2024 as the global Radio Access Network (RAN) market remains in the doldrums, with Ericsson expecting a depressed market until at least the end of the year. For China-based equipment makers, however, this might as well be news from another universe.
Elon Musk's quick visit to China paid immediate dividends, with Tesla Inc. clearing two key hurdles to introduce its driver-assistance system to the world's biggest auto market.
