Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) released data showing that as of December 2023, 1,209 Taiwanese companies had invested NT$2,735.6 billion (US$84.2 billion) in China, an increase of NT$32.4 billion from the end of 2022. However, investment repatriation from China last year alone accounted for 17.5% of the accumulated amount over the past, probably due to capital needs for supply chain migration.
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is meeting Singapore's leader at the tail end of his most extensive Southeast Asia tour in years, searching for new growth markets and manufacturing locations to offset headwinds in China.
Facing challenges like being outsold by BYD in New Energy Vehicle (NEV) sales and significant layoffs, Tesla has now been overtaken by another Chinese competitor in the Chinese market in the first quarter, according to recent data.
Brite Semiconductor, in which SMIC is the second largest shareholder, officially debuted on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, with its stock soaring, leading to the gradual recovery of SMIC's investments.
After introducing the INR100 billion (US$1.2 billion) IndiaAI Mission, the Indian government is reportedly considering procuring Nvidia GPUs to help grow the local AI ecosystem.
Apple CEO Tim Cook concluded his 2-day visit to Vietnam, during which he met with Prime Minister of Vietnam Phạm Minh Chính and promised to expand investment in Vietnam.
The three major players in advanced chip manufacturing have secured CHIPS Act subsidies by promising to increase investments in fabrication facilities within the United States. With more than half of the direct subsidies in their coffers, they are mandated to introduce cutting-edge 2-nm production lines on American soil.
The shortage of IC design talent continues to be a problem, leading Taiwan-based IC design firms to look into government and academic resources to hire overseas talent, focusing on Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.
China's National Semiconductor Industry Investment Fund (aka the Big Fund) has provided financial support to NineCube, a Chinese electronic design automation (EDA) company established in 2011, according to local media reports.
US states like Arizona and New Mexico are expected to become more tempting for investments, partly thanks to an EV cluster that will emerge in the southwestern US and northern Mexico. The border states will also play a crucial role in achieving the US goal of raising local production rate.
Apple Inc. is weighing the possibility of making some of its gadgets in Indonesia, as the iPhone maker explores production bases beyond its longtime stronghold of China.
"An opening bombardment destroys most of Taiwan's navy and air force in the first hours of hostilities. Augmented by a powerful rocket force, the Chinese navy encircles Taiwan and interdicts any attempts to get ships and aircraft to the besieged island. Tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers cross the strait in a mix of military amphibious craft and civilian roll-on, roll-off ships, while air assault and airborne troops land behind the beachheads."
China's production of ICs and semiconductor equipment continued to grow in the first quarter of 2024, fueled by the recovery in the economy and efforts to achieve self-reliance despite the US sanctions.
