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Thursday 5 March 2026
China sets 2026 growth target at 4.5–5% as supply chain risks mount
China has set a more flexible economic growth target for 2026, Premier Li Qiang said in the government work report delivered on March 5 and carried by Xinhua News Agency. The gross domestic product growth goal is between 4.5% and 5%, with consumer price index inflation expected to be around 2%, a range that marks a cautious shift from previous years' more definitive "around 5%" target
Thursday 5 March 2026
AI's power problem: US tech giants seek grid solutions while China builds energy edge

On March 4 local time, the White House will host a signing ceremony that could influence the direction of global AI competition. Technology and AI leaders, including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, xAI, Oracle, and OpenAI, are scheduled to gather in Washington to sign the Ratepayer Protection Pledge

Thursday 5 March 2026
Samsung DRAM prices reportedly double in 1Q26, jumping from 70% to 100% increase in a month
Reports indicate that Samsung raised DRAM prices by more than 100% in the first quarter of 2026. The increase had initially been negotiated at around 70% in January 2026, but expanded further within a month
Thursday 5 March 2026
Beyond EMS: Lens Technology ships PCIe 5.0 enterprise SSDs, moves into AI data center storage

Lens Technology said SSDs assembled for enterprise NVMe storage supplier DERA have entered mass shipment at its facility in the Xiangtan Economic and Technological Development Zone, marking the company's expansion into the high-end data center storage supply chain

Thursday 5 March 2026
Glass fiber shortage hits IC substrates, MGC follows Resonac with 30% CCL price hike

Demand from Nvidia and Apple has intensified shortages of high-end glass fiber cloth used in IC substrates, driving broad price increases for related materials and squeezing profit margins for copper clad laminate (CCL) suppliers. Japanese materials makers have recently taken the lead in raising prices, shifting rising costs downstream to customers and end markets

Wednesday 4 March 2026
Chinese fabless AI chipmakers report sharp revenue growth with divergent profitability in 2025
Two of China's leading AI chip developers, Moore Threads and Cambricon Technologies, reported strong revenue expansion in 2025, supported by rising demand for AI computing power. However, their profitability trajectories diverged, reflecting different stages of commercialization and investment intensity
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Samsung expands AI chip push with Pyeongtaek P5 and Texas foundry ramp

Samsung Electronics is accelerating the expansion of its Pyeongtaek semiconductor campus in South Korea, aiming to establish the site as a core production base for next-generation AI memory. The company's fifth fabrication plant, P5, is scheduled to begin operations in 2028 and will support the long-term supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM used in AI servers and data-center infrastructure, according to Yonhap and Munhwa

Wednesday 4 March 2026
FitTech seeks enforcement to recover over US$43 million and CNY30 million from Sanan subsidiaries
LED equipment manufacturer FitTech announced it has filed compulsory enforcement applications with local Chinese courts to recover more than US$43.29 million and CNY30.37 million (approx. US$4.42 million) from two subsidiaries of Sanan Optoelectronics, saying the move follows unpaid arbitration awards
Wednesday 4 March 2026
TSMC dominates global foundry rankings while four Chinese players enter top 10
ChipInsights data shows the combined revenue of 29 pure-play foundries worldwide reached CNY1.149 trillion in 2025, up 25.46% year-on-year and exceeding the CNY1 trillion mark for the first time in the industry's history
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Hisense leads 100-inch TV shipments as Chinese brands surge in 2025
The global flat-panel TV market continues to see shifting sales shares, with Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics maintaining overall leadership. However, Chinese brands like TCL and Hisense are rapidly closing the gap, breaking into the top five TV sellers worldwide
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz closure threatens China auto exports, triggers 15-25% cost surge
Following US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy and shipping flows. The move has lifted prices for petrochemical feedstocks, synthetic rubber and plastic components, creating 15-25% raw material cost pressure for automakers and compressing margins
Wednesday 4 March 2026
SmartSens raises CIS prices 10-20% for Samsung, Nexchip output on memory cost pressure

China-based CMOS image sensor (CIS) supplier SmartSens Technology has notified customers of price increases, stating that from March 1, 2026, prices for its smart security and AIoT product lines will rise by 10% or 20%, depending on the upstream wafer foundry manufacturing the products

Wednesday 4 March 2026
South Korean startups propose charging hubs as AI computing resources, battery-free smart cities
South Korea's vibrant startup ecosystem is advancing the country's smart city ambitions through AI-driven infrastructure. Uniqconn—a CES 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree—and Warp Solution have proposed blueprints for distributed AI infrastructure and battery-free smart cities, respectively, aiming to address massive national computing demands and reduce maintenance costs for urban traffic sensors
Tuesday 3 March 2026
US Congress and industry clash over new semiconductor security mandates
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced legislation that would grant Congress the authority to review and block advanced chip sales to adversarial nations, mirroring the oversight typically reserved for arms deals. This move, alongside the proposed Chip Security Act, has sparked a sharp divide between national security hawks in Washington and semiconductor industry leaders regarding the future of American technological leadership and export control strategies
Tuesday 3 March 2026
US moves to bar federal purchases of China-linked chips

The US is moving to bar federal agencies from buying certain semiconductors tied to major China-based chipmakers, widening procurement restrictions even as memory shortages and rising prices strain electronics supply chains