China's top-3 OSAT providers - Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET), Huatian Technology and Tongfu Microelectronics - are expected to see their combined revenues increase 8% on year in 2020, mainly bolstered by 5G infrastructure construction, according to Digitimes Research.Statistics show the three firms raked in total revenues of CNY39.9 billion (US$5.65 billion) in 2019, up only 4% from a year earlier amid the US-China trade rows and lackluster semiconductor sales. Among them, JCET posted a negative revenue growth for the year due mainly to its subsidiary STATS ChipPAC's significant shrinkage in revenues from packaging handset, memory and cryptocurrency mining chips solutions, while Huatian and Tongfu both registered double-digit annual revenue increases thanks to processing new chip products for clients or acquisition gains.The coronavirus pandemic and intensifying US-China trade tensions have added uncertainties to revenue performance of China's top-3 OSAT players, but their on-year revenue expansion may double to 8% for 2020 on rush chip demand for healthcare and remote work and learning applications, gradual ramp-up in 5G handset shipments, and particularly accelerating 5G infrastructure construction in China and its relentless efforts in pursuing semiconductor self-sufficiency.In terms of technology deployments, the three firms, already able to handle volume production of SiP, fan-out, FC (flip chip) and TSV (through silicon via) processes, are focusing on developing 2.5D and 3D packaging processes seeking to better benefit from ever-expanding demand for 5G networking, HPC, memory, sensor and automotive chips.

Noodoe has developed a cloud-based operating platform for managing electric vehicle charging stations, according to company chairman John Wang.Noodoe EV OS is applicable to all types of connected EV charging piles and provides central management functions to allow operational personnel to configure pricing, modify peak hours, monitor operating status and infrastructure of charging piles, and process payments, Wang said.Noodoe EV OS features automated diagnosis through constantly checking operating conditions of every charging pile, and if necessary, sending notification and initiating recovery processes for the charging piles, Wang noted.In March 2020 Noodoe partnered with US-based electricity supplier Southern California Edison (SCE), which connected Noodoe EV OS with its management center, Wang indicated.Noodoe has also developed various EV charging modules for use in homes, commercial buildings/facilities and logistic car fleets, Wang said.Noodoe in May 2020 cooperated with Audi Taiwan to help its customers evaluate the feasibility of installing EV charging modules at home.Noodoe chairman John WangPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, June 2020

The 5G era may not be getting off to a flying start, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the unexpected development - plus the US-China trade war - is giving MediaTek an advantage over its major competitor Qualcomm in 2020 because of the Taiwanese vendor's strong focus on the sub-6Ghz segment and on the Chinese market. But penetration of mmWave-enabled 5G phones may not wait too long before expanding fast. Taiwan-based IC substrate makers continue to improve their AiP substrate production yield rates seeking to gain a firm presence in AiP packaging that is expected to be widely used in mmWave smartphones. For the PC sector, the pandemic has unexpectedly driven shipment growth to support stay-at-home needs. Though commerical and consumer devices may have already seen peak demand of 2020 in the second quarter, gaming notebooks sales are expected to stay strong in the second half of the year.MediaTek poses growing threat to Qualcomm: MediaTek's focus on the sub-6GHz segment and the China market is putting the Taiwan-based company in a better position to march into the 5G mobile chip market, according to market observers.Taiwan makers revving up to boost FC-AiP substrate yield rates: Taiwan-based IC substrate makers continue to improve their AiP (antenna in package) substrate production yield rates seeking to gain a firm presence in AiP packaging that is expected to be widely used in mmWave-enabled 5G smartphones, according to industry sources.PC firms upbeat about gaming notebook sales in 2H20: PC vendors are optimistic about gaming notebook sales in the second half of this year, but believe sales of commercial and consumer models may have already hit their peak levels for 2020 in the second quarter.

Apple is expected to launch its 5G iPhone later this year, but its supply chain partners are now much less optimistic about shipments for the new devices that reportedly will support mmWave in 2020. Apple has been relying mostly on Taiwan-based manufacturers for assembling its devices, but Chinese makers are now gaining ground, as the US client looks to diversify its supply chain. ABF susbstrate suppliers stand to lose orders from Huawei because of US sanctions on the Chinese firm, but they will expect tight supply of their products because of demand from other clients.5G iPhone shipments may be much weaker than expected in 2020, say sources: Shipments of mmWave-enabled 5G iPhones slated for launch later this year are estimated to reach only 15-20 million units in 2020 compared to a previous supply chain estimate of 30-40 million units, intensifying competition among Apple's suppliers of FC-AiP substrates for the new phones, according to industry sources.Chinese firms gaining significant ground in Apple devices assembly chain: In order to cut costs, diversify production risks and better tap the Chinese market, Apple has allowed Chinese partners to play an increasingly important role in assembling diverse devices including iPads, Apple Watches and AirPods, posing growing threats to the vendor's existing Taiwan-based assemblers, according to industry sources.ABF substrate supply to stay tight despite Huawei woes: Taiwan-based IC substrate suppliers including Unimicron Technology and Nan Ya PCB are expected to continue experiencing tight supply of ABS substrates throughout 2020 despite losses of orders from Huawei, but their profitability may fall slightly, according to industry sources.

Nvidia is currently still ahead of competitors in the server GPU market and saw its revenues from the datacenter business reach US$2.98 billion in 2019, nearly three times those of AMD estimated at around US$1 billion.However, AMD, with support from TSMC's advanced manufacturing processes amid fast growth in the datacenter market, has been gaining market share in the server segment. As the only chip developer with an APU product line that integrates its in-house CPU with GPU, AMD is expected to be able to gradually build a server ecosystem of its own, Digitimes Research believes.The server business' contribution to Nvidia's revenues has continued rising with the proportion growing from 25% in the company's fiscal 2019 to 27.4% in fiscal 2020 ended January 26, 2020, and to 37% in fiscal first-quarter 2021 ended April 26, 2020.As applications for high performance computing (HPC) and AI are still in strong demand from the datacenter market, Nvidia and AMD are both optimistic about their sales in the calendar second quarter of 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic.Nvidia reported revenues of US$1.14 billion for its datacenter business for its fiscal first-quarter 2021, while AMD's revenues in the first quarter of 2020 are expected to have stayed in high gear thanks to cloud computing service providers' keen deployments of servers during the pandemic.AMD is also expected to see strong order pull-ins from clients during the second quarter of 2020. AMD also set a goal of having more than 30% of its overall revenues coming from the datacenter business by 2023, showing its determination of making the datacenter business a key focus in the next few years.

China has a population of 1.4 billion in 2020. China's GDP would reach US$15.7 trillion according to CIA estimates. If China could maintain its target of a 6% growth, its GDP would be close to 80% of America's US$20 trillion. CIA even projected that China's GDP would climb to US$38.2 trillion by 2040, far surpassing America's US$28.8 trillion. China has become the world's factory and the world's biggest market.But what will become of China in the post-pandemic era? China's economic growth will no longer be able to rely on investments in infrastructure, which is already well-established in most parts of the country. And it remains uncertain whether China will have the financial means to support its semiconductor development and 5G deployments, judging from its worsening finances. How is Huawei going to survive under US sanctions? Is Samsung going to benefit from the Huawei woes? These are some of the questions I try to answer in my book, Disconnected ICT Supply Chains: New Power Plays Unfolding.Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, Feb 2020

China-based manufacturer and component suppliers have crossed into the supply chain of Apple and are gaining increased orders from the vendor with China-based Luxshare already becoming a key assembler of the AirPods and having a chance to make the Apple Watch and iPhones in the near future. BOE has also been selected as an OLED panel supplier for iPhones, but will not supply the initial batch of Apple's 5G iPhone shipments. At the same time, Taiwan-based backend firms have increased their capacities in a bid to satisfy MediaTek's extra orders, while many foundries have witnessed a deceleration in orders for automotive-related chips.China-based Luxshare rising fast with potential threats to iPhone assemblers: China-based AirPods assembler Luxshare Precision Industry has seen increasing presence in the supply chain of Apple devices, and may have a chance of winning Apple Watch assembly orders and moving further to assemble iPhones eventually, according to industry sources.Initial 5G iPhone shipments reportedly not to feature BOE OLED panels: BOE Technology will not be in the supplier list for the first batch of panel shipments for Apple's 2020 iPhone lineup as the Chinese maker has failed to secure Apple's validation for its OLED screens, according to sources familiar with the matter.Backend firms raising capacity support for MediaTek: Taiwan's backend firms are moving to increase capex in the second half of 2020 to expand capacity to fulfill additional orders from MediaTek which is strengthening presence in 5G SoCs, Wi-Fi 6 chipsets and networking solutions, according to industry sources.Foundries see cutback in orders for auto chips: TSMC and other pure-play foundries have seen their mature process capacity utilization rates decline, due mainly to a substantial cutback in orders for automotive electronics applications, according to industry sources.

Taiwan-based blockchain startup OwlTing has developed OwlStay, a blockchain-based solution to provide integrated tourism services, according to company founder and CEO Darren Wang.OwlStay provides information on local history and culture particularly for in-depth tourism, Wang said.OwlTing launched OwlNest, a blockchain-based solution for hotel management, and OwlTing Experiences, a solution to provide detailed information for tourism planning, in 2017, and OwlJourney, a solution for booking hotel rooms, in 2019, Wang noted.By virtue of Ethereum databases, OwlNest excludes any possibility of tampering with room reservations to avoid over-booking.OwlTing has also launched OwlChain blockchain-based food traceability system.OwlTing founder and CEO Darren WangPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, June 2020

MediaTek has booked more capacities at foundries and backend service providers for the second half of 2020. MediaTek is seeing robust demand not only for its smartphone chips, but also its other offerings. As far as chip supply is concerned, Apple is ditching Intel and equipping its next Macs with its own processors. Taiwan-based Unimicron is being identified as potentially a major supplier of ABF substrates for the Apple silicon. Meanwhile, Kioxia is expectd to complete its acquisition of Lite On Tech's SSD unit in July, after a few months' delay in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.MediaTek books additional capacities for wafer foundry and backend services: MediaTek has increased its bookings for additional capacities at Taiwan's wafer foundry houses, mainly TSMC, and backend IC packaging and testing service firms for the second half of 2020 as the firm is ramping up chip shipments not only for 4G/5G smartphones but also for tablet, networking, TV, STB, IoT and server applications, according to industry sources.Unimicron may supply ABF substrates for new Macs with Apple silicon: Taiwan-based Unimicron Technology is being identified as the major ABF substrate supplier for Apple's new-generation Mac computers that will be powered by its in-house developed ARM-based processors, according to market sources.Kioxia to complete acquisition of Lite-On SSD biz in July: Kioxia (renamed from Toshiba Memory) is expected to complete its takeover of Lite-On Technology's SSD business in early July, according to industry sources.

CoolBitX, a Taiwan-based startup engaged in developing blockchain security solutions, has developed Sygna Bridge, an API that helps virtual asset service providers (VASPs) meet their respective countries' regulatory requirements as mandated by FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Recommendation 16 to prevent money laundering and terrorism funding, according to company founder and CEO Michael Ou.International money transfers among banks use SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) codes for identification, and Sygna Bridge is intended as SWIFT for virtual currency exchanges, enabling VASPs to collect and exchange FATF Recommendation 16-compliant transaction information, Ou noted.CoolBitX in April 2020 presented to FATF officials findings in Sygna Bridge tests, which showed that in cross-country transactions of virtual currency among Japan-based SBI VC, South Korea-based Bitsonic and Taiwan-based BitoPro, Sygna Bridge was an efficient solution, Ou said, adding it passed examination by four large international accounting firms. Currently, 15 virtual currency exchanges in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Canada have joined Sygna Bridge.Among FATF Recommendations regarding prevention of money laundering and terrorism funding, Number 16 is the most difficult one for VASPs to comply with, Ou noted.In addition to Sygna Bridge, ColBitX has developed CoolWallet S, a credit card-sized Bluetooth hardware wallet that supports various tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP and ERC20, Ou said. While many of competitive hardware wallet models have to be connected with notebooks, CoolWallet S is connected with smartphones via Bluetooth for transferring users' private keys, Ou noted.CoolBitX in February 2020 finished series B funding round raising US$16.75 million from Japan-based SBI Holdings and Monex, Taiwan's National Development Fund and Bitsonic. CoolBitX will use the funds to continue tapping the Asia market, aiming to increase the number of virtual currency exchanges joining Sygna Bridge to at least 30 in 2020.CoolBitX founder and CEO Michael OuPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, June 2020