ICs accounted for a record-high 35.5% of Taiwan's total exports in 2020, indicating Taiwan-based chipmakers are increasingly critical to the country's economy, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan is where industry leaders such as TSMC and MediaTek are headquartered. Its ICs are playing an increasingly important role in Taiwan's total exports, compared with about 20% that semiconductors contribute to South Korea's total exports, Digitimes Research have found.ICs accounted for only 18.1% of Taiwan's total exports in 2011, duing which TSMC just moved 28nm process to mass production while MediaTek was not yet a global top-20 chip supplier.Taiwan-based IC suppliers have greatly enhanced their global competitiveness, but it remains to be seen whether their global presence can be maintained or even grown.South Korea's semiconductor exports came much above Taiwan's during 2017 and 2018, when the global top-2 memory chipmakers - Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - enjoyed the most gains from the memory market boom. Nevertheless, with the memory market sliding from its peak, Taiwan's IC outputs surpassed South Korea's in 2019 and 2020.Taiwan's IC exports came to US$100.3 billion and US$122.5 billion, respectively, in 2019 and 2020, while South Korea's total semiconductor exports reached US$95.2 billion and US$100.3 billion. Taiwan-based IC design houses and foundries' sales growth contributed to the country's overall IC output value over the past two years.Taiwan's IC exports surged 28.3% on year to US$33.81 billion in the first quarter of 2021, while South Korea's semiconductor exports grew 14.6% from a year earlier to US$26.59 billion. Taiwan's IC design and foundry sectors remained critical to the country's total IC exports, according to Digitimes Research.Semiconductor exports from Taiwan and South Korea, 2017-2020 (US$b)Source: Compiled by Digitimes Research, Apil 2021

Apple is expected to soon unveil a miniLED-backlit iPad Pro, and its miniLED supply chain is ready to expand shipments, having improved yield rates. In the semiconductor sector, supply for packaging tools has been extremely tight, with equipment vendors reluctant to expand production, wary of possibly a lurking bubble in the market. And MediaTek is keen to maintain its leadership in the 5G phone market segment. The IC vendor has stepped up purchases of BT substrates for use in its 5G mobile SoCs to make sure it has enough supply.Apple supplier to increase miniLED shipments for iPad Pro in April: Apple's supplier of backlight-use miniLED for the vendor's upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Pro will see shipments pick up later in April 2021, according to industry sources.IC packaging equipment in severely tight supply: The supply of IC packaging production tools including polish grinders, wafer-dicing machines, and tape laminators has become severely tight, apart from delivery lead times lengthened for wire-bonding machines, according to industry sources.MediaTek steps up BT substrate purchases: MediaTek has stepped up its purchases of BT substrates for use in its 5G mobile SoCs from suppliers including Unimicron Technology and Kinsus Interconnect Technology, as part of its efforts to expand presence in the 5G handset AP market, according to industry sources.

Wistron has partnered with AppWorks to activate an accelerator program, aiming to recruit startups particularly from the AI, cloud computing and cyber security industries.Wistron has been cooperating with AppWorks since 2014 and is a major shareholder of AppWorks Fund II and III. Wistron also invested in several startups incubated by AppWorks including cyber security solution developer Umbo Computer Vision, machine learning platform developer MoBagel and pet healthcare AI designer Aniware.Wistron's accelerator program is open to applicants twice a year with accepted startups also eligible for AppWorks' accelerator and cooperation with Wistron's affiliates.So far, Wistron has invested a total of over NT$10 billion (US$348.25 million) in 50-60 companies that cover emerging applications such as those for education, enterprise services, IoT and medical care.

5G is no doubt a hot key word in today's high-tech world. The disruptive changes 5G will bring are nothing like those in the times of 3G or 4G. Never-before-seen features such as network slicing, virtualization, and ultra-low latency are expected to give rise to a myriad of smart innovations which will generate enormous business value. As such, the main 5G market will target enterprise applications, unlike the 3G/4G market which focuses on consumer applications.It is foreseeable that massive amounts of data will be generated as 5G services become available, which will be instrumental to the realization of AIoT applications. Data flow across each node, including the end devices, base stations, and core networks, will be much bigger than before and instant processing will be needed. In response, fronthaul or backhaul transmission speeds have jumped from 10Gbps to 25~50Gbps while core network transmission speeds have surged to 100Gbps, 400Gbps, and even 800Gbps. This has spurred escalating market demand for high-speed copper conductors and optical interconnects. JPC, long devoted to high-speed cabling and optical communication modules, stands to reap the benefits.There is one more thing that is quite different between 5G and previous generations of mobile communication technologies. That is, telecom operators are more concerned about their return on 5G investment than before. This leads to the rise of Open RAN (O-RAN), OCP, ONF and other international organizations promoting open-source 5G network architecture. Originally close-ended base station technologies, resources, and devices are now being delayered and deconstructed while software and hardware are being disintegrated as well. The open trend will have a major influence on JPC.According to JPC chairperson Shu-Mei Chang, the term "open" was hardly heard of during the times of 4G or even earlier 3G and 2G. In other words, the telecom world kept to itself. Telecom and datacom were two different worlds and their paths did not cross each other. Now with 5G O-RAN, new types of telecom operators like Japan-based Rakuten and German-based 1��1 Drillisch are emerging. Telecom heavyweights like AT&T are actively embracing open architectures as they will be able to freely purchase white-box servers, switches, storages and small-scale base stations to rebuild their mobile communication systems. Leveraging wireless network virtualization, they can change the traditional telecom network architecture, thereby breaking free from vendor lock-in and achieve performance and cost optimization.The market embraces JPC's high-speed transmission products with increasing O-RAN and OCP adoption"As O-RAN architectures and Open Compute Project (OCP) platforms get increasingly adopted, white-box equipment suppliers that had difficulty penetrating into the supply chain of the telecom industry with a history of over a hundred years now stand a chance of tapping into the new blue ocean market of 5G telecom networks," said Chang. To do so, white-box equipment suppliers need to find active optical cables (AOC) and direct attach copper cables (DAC) used to connect servers and switches, some of which need to deliver data rates as high as 400Gbps. A large quantity of fiber optic or copper cables is also required for the deployment of telecom central office infrastructure.This presents new opportunities to JPC. The customer base of JPC had primarily included switch or server manufacturers and cloud service providers with very few white-box equipment suppliers until two years ago when JPC started to reach out to white-box equipment suppliers and system integrators (SI) in view of rising O-RAN and OCP popularity spurred by 5G and stepped up efforts to pitch JPC's high-speed transmission products to them. After a break-in period, JPC has strengthened the engagement with data center operators, equipment suppliers (including servers, switches and storage devices) and electronics manufacturing service (EMS) providers and has begun making shipments to these new customers.What's more, growing 5G developments have also prompted distributors, value-added resellers (VAR), supercomputer suppliers, hospitals, schools and information security device vendors to actively approach JPC for partnership deals to incorporate 100G/400G high-speed transmission products to enhance their application/service performance. What this means is that enterprises or organizations that had nothing to do with JPC in the past now join its expanding customer base, allowing JPC to tap into tremendous opportunities.Of course, these burgeoning opportunities do not come out of nowhere but result from JPC's technological strength built through two decades of efforts. Dr. Chi-Hsien Sun, in charge of JPC's product R&D for the cloud network communication component industry, noted that JPC has stay committed to enhancing its electronics development capability since 2000, transcending from traditional molding, stamping and injection processes. This allowed JPC to lead the industry in replacing conventional connectors with PCBA terminals and thereby build up a strong foundation of PCB layout and impedance matching technologies. JPC has also stayed ahead in the transition to active copper cables (ACC), based on which it was able to increase the transmission range and reliability of copper cables.Soon afterwards, JPC undertook the development of optical modules featuring optical packaging and laser/optical coupler technologies. Not only has JPC effectively raised the transmission speed of its optical modules, but it has also reduced the power consumption and enhanced the heat dissipation. JPC has received four patents for its optical module technologies. Its leading-edge technologies will enable JPC to capture preemptive opportunities in the low speed to high speed transition and electrical signal to optical signal conversion brought by 5G and become a strong force supporting white-box equipment suppliers' foray into the telecom market.JPC chairperson Shu-Mei Chang

TSMC chairman Mark Liu took part in a White House-hosted online meeting of the world's semiconductor powerhouses on Tuesday. After the meeting, Liu reiterated the Taiwan-based foundry house's commitment to building a wafer fab in the US state of Arizona. The semiconductor supply chain has been troubled by shortages for months, with major Taiwanese IC vendors set for another wave of price hikes in second-quarter 2021. Development of microLED applications have been gaining momentum, and commercialized products may be available as early as year-end 2021.TSMC reiterates commitment to US fab project: TSMC chairman Mark Liu, who participated in a virtual summit hosted by the Biden administration to discuss global chip shortages and the US plan to rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing edge, has reiterated the Taiwan-based foundry house's commitment to building an advanced wafer fab in the US.Major Taiwan IC design houses to hike prices in 2Q21: MediaTek and Elan Microelectronics both plan to raise their chip prices by 10-20% to reflect rising foundry costs starting May 1, while fellow IC design company Realtek Semiconductor will also hike its chip prices by over 20% later in the second quarter, according to industry sources.MicroLED may start taking off at year-end 2021, says PlayNitride executive: Development of microLED applications has been gaining momentum, with commercialization of the technology likely to begin at year-end-2021 at the earliest, according to Falcon Liu, marketing director for Taiwan-based PlayNitride.

Shortages, which were originally attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to worsen in 2021. Continuous demand growth in various sectors like 5G, automotive and IoT, ongoing raw material shortages and catastrophes are the primary culprits.2021 Q1 in reviewThe year opened with renewed concerns over legacy case size MLCCs used in the industrial sector, 5G smartphones and the automotive sector due to a fire outbreak at the Walsin production plant in China. And, it's getting worse as supply of high-capacitance MLCCs, in particular, has been exacerbated since January, largely caused by a sharp rise in 5G mobile phones after the Chinese New Year.In February, a winter storm in Texas caused widespread power shortages and blackouts. Because Texas is a US hub for chip manufacturing and electronic production, major chip manufacturers were impacted including Samsung, NXP and Infineon.In the same month, an earthquake resulted in a blackout at Renesas's Naka factory, and production was temporarily suspended. The impact on supply chains from this event was limited. However, in mid-March, the same plant caught fire, and damaged 23 machines, including plating machines used for wiring. The components most affected include a variety of automotive and non-automotive MCUs as well as power management and MOSFETs.Unexpected events, such as the Nittobo and Renesas factory fires, have also worsened the supply of already short raw materials like silicone and glass substrate, wafers and crystal oscillators. Production for a variety of components has been impacted as a result, causing shortages of ICs, CPUs and memory. Memory module pricing, for example, increased 5-10% above official pricing.The shortages have hindered the automotive industry especially. The lack of MLCCs and automotive chips forced automakers like Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota to cut production early in the year despite growing consumer demand. As a result, the US, German and Taiwanese governments were pressured to convince IC leaders like TSMC and UMC to reallocate production to support struggling automotive manufacturers. Unfortunately, the Renesas plant fire will only increase the obstacles the automotive industry continues to encounter.The rollout of 5G technology has also been hindered by the IC and CPU shortages. Chipmakers are currently struggling to meet demand for processor chips used in smartphones, which has affected production lines of Samsung and Apple. The shortage of ICs has also led to supply constraints for SSDs, which have been in high demand from the rollout of 5G, IoT and new gaming activity.A look into Q2In Q2 we are sure to fully realize the impacts of these unpredictable disruptions while facing additional shortages on the horizon.Raw materials worsenAs seen throughout 2020 and in 2021, raw material shortages have intensified, and it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.The ABF substrate shortage has been the biggest contributor to the CPU, GPU and IC shortages, and is currently predicted to last until 2023. Because ABF manufacturing equipment has a lead time of 12 months, ABF makers are focusing on increasing yield rather than capacity. With no supply relief in sight, prices will continue to rise over the next 6 months, leaving customers to pay the price.Semiconductor production continues to be disrupted by the 8-inch wafer shortage with dim prospects for recovery as the substrate shortage continues. The 8-inch wafer is needed for CMOS sensors, power supply controller, MCU, RF component, MEMS, etc., which is why numerous industries are competing for this resource. As TSMC moves to focus its production on automotive chips, the production of other industries will suffer as a result.Certain crystal oscillators, including TCXOs are seeing supply issues fostered by the Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) fire that occurred in October 2020. Despite AKM starting to ship out stock through its subcontractors, there is extremely limited supply and customers are being urged to find products from other manufacturers until alternative production is available. AKM's production lines will not be fully operational until March 2022.Other raw material shortages are starting to appear, such as with glass and precious metals. Palladium, used in electronics and a key component in vehicle pollution-control devices, is experiencing rising prices as usage grows. Price increases currently paid by automakers may be passed off to customers if output falls short of demand as predicted.Growing component shortagesThere is growing demand for ICs related to five key areas: energy efficiency, mobility, security, IoT (internet of things) and server/cloud services, which is putting pressure on supply. As such, overall IC shortages are expected to continue to be widespread across all brands throughout Q2.Rising automotive demand has worsened the chip shortage, causing a chain reaction across different industries. Because some chip makers are shifting production to focus on automotive products, supply for industrial products will likely take a hit and pricing will continue in the quarter.Pricing for automotive ICs, generally, is rising by about 30% while current lead times are around 28 weeks - and could grow up to 40 weeks. Lead times for industrial application MCUs are currently facing extending lead times due to automotive demand as the industry continues to see many shortages.Demand from the automotive market, in addition to high demand for PCs and smartphones, has put a strain on MLCCs, which has resulted in price increases. Analysts have predicted that the MLCC shortage is expected to worsen through Q3, and prices are believed to increase in Q2. With limited foundry capacity and many manufacturers competing for these necessary products, the automotive industry won't see supply relief until the second half of the year.The mobile phone market is also being affected by IC shortages, as well as heightened memory pricing from little supply and growing demand. Mobile phone memory products are seeing price increases and a supply gap from customers pulling in extra stock as a buffer against these prices.If demand for memory strengthens as predicted, contract prices for memory will rise further in Q2 and gaps in supply will worsen. Samsung has already announced a pricing increase of 10% in April, and Intel and Micron prices are to rise by 5% as well.Furthermore, implementation of 5G coupled with rising consumer demand for smarter technology in mobile phones, automobiles, wireless applications, and appliances will cause enterprise and cloud storage companies to have increasing need for larger and faster SSDs, which requires more NAND flash. Since NAND flash demand will likely outpace supply in Q3 as new mobile devices and CPUs hit the market, SSD pricing will rise anywhere between 5-15% as a result and continue through the year.Ramification of natural disastersThe Texas storm is sure to cause supply issues for memory, automotive MCUs, storage and more for weeks to come. Plant interruptions from the rolling blackouts in February have decreased overall production at a time when chip demand is already higher than capacity can met.NXP is one company that reports it experienced a month's loss of chip production due to the event and lead times for its products will extend by 8-12 weeks as a result. Infineon's production of MCUs and NOR flash memory chips have also been heavily affected, especially since its NOR flash supply had been facing shortages. Because of this, memory pricing is predicted to rise as much as another 10% in Q2.Comparatively, Renesas's fire has had a much worse effect on its production of MCUs and MOSFETs, which will require at least 100-120 days to recover according to the company. It will take 6 months for the company to recoup its losses, and automakers, especially, will feel its effects in April.The continued drought in Taiwan will only exacerbate the effects of these shortages, especially since Taiwanese plants and foundries produce approximately 53% of global semiconductors. Because water is key in processing silicon and chip production, shortages through May could be a major blow to semiconductor production.A tumultuous road ahead for global markets

TSMC is scheduled to hold its investors' conference later this week. Market observers speculate that the foundry house may disclose plans to revise upward its capex budget for 2021, judging from the fact TSMC has recently vowed to spend US$100 billion on capacity expansions in the next three years. ODMs Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics are optimistic about their notebook shipment growths in second-quarter 2021, but remain wary of components shortages undermining their shipments for full-year 2021. Shortages of audio+LAN chips from Realtek have been described as one of the major factors stalling production for many end-market devices, including Chromebooks.TSMC likely to raise 2021 capex target: TSMC is likely to provide a revision to its capex target for 2021 at its upcoming earnings conference call scheduled for April 15, according to market observers.Quanta, Compal expect shipment growth in 2Q21, but cautious about 2H21: Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics expect their notebook shipments to see double-digit sequential growths in the second quarter of 2021, but remain cautious about the second half of the year.Realtek facing delivery pressure for audio+LAN chips: Network and communication IC supplier Realtek Semiconductor reportedly is currently unable to fulfill its orders for audio+LAN chips from a number of clients, affecting the production of end-market devices such as Chromebooks, according to industry sources.

The notebook market has been robust in recent months thanks to stay-at-home needs. Chromebook shipments are expected to rise sharply in 2021. Apart from Intel, some other chip vendors, such as MediaTek and Elan, are poised to see robust growths in reenues from the Chromebook segment. ODM Wistron saw its notebook shipments spiked 52% on year in first-quarter 2021. The smatphone market is also recovering, and Apple is expected to adopt teh more power-efficient LTPO backplane technology for OLED displays in the premium models of its next-generation iPhone lineup.Strong Chromebook shipments to buoy chip suppliers in 2Q21: Taiwan-based IC design houses including MediaTek, Elan Microelectronics and Integrated Technology Express (ITE) continue to enjoy a strong pull-in of orders for Chromebooks, which will boost their respective revenues to record highs in the second quarter, according to industry sources.Wistron sees over 50% surge in notebook shipments in 1Q21: Wistron shipped a total of 5.4 million notebooks in the first quarter of 2021, up 52.1% from a year earlier, while revenues grew by a slight 2% on year to NT$177.14 billion (US$6.23 billion).Apple reportedly to adopt LTPO display technology for new iPhones: Apple reportedly will adopt LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) backplane technology for OLED displays in its premium iPhones to be launched later in 2021, according to industry sources.

In recent years, a wave of cross-industry partnerships has emerged in the industry to target trends in AIoT and 5G. The cross-industry partnerships are expected to form comprehensive capabilities to seize opportunities in diversified intelligence applications. To date, there have been more and more cases of partnerships. 5G Drones for highway hillsides, and reservoirs watershed survey combining "perceptive AI" and "fully autonomous AI" to enact disaster prevention, environment protection is one of the examples.Since its establishment in 1992, Coretronic Corporation has positioned itself as an "innovative display system integrated solution provider." For more than 20 years, Coretronic Corporation demonstrated its technical capabilities in displays, optics, thermal management, materials and precision molds. It actively branched out from its core capabilities to smart robotics, MEMS sensor components, AR/MR, and cloud services in four subsidiaries. Coretronic Corporation CTO and AI Application Research Center Vice President Robert Hsueh stated that the mission of the 4 subsidiaries is to manage various smart application solutions and develop critical, related upstream components, in order to seize the massive opportunities in AIoT and 5G.Robert Hsueh also emphasized that there are already many companies offering AIoT and 5G related products and solutions today. To build competitive edge over increasingly fierce competition, Coretronic must secure the sources of the technologies. Coretronic not only develops solutions, but also secures critical components and modules upstream, thereby strengthens its competitiveness in the market. Taking the LiDAR sensor as an example, Coretronic develops the state-of-the-art MEMS-based LiDAR sensor which integrates optical machines, system, and signal processing algorithms. Compared to mechanical LiDARs consisting of laser scanning structure currently available in the market, MEMS LiDARs are more compact and lighter, less power consuming, and more reliable. If the cost of these modules fall to an acceptable price in the market, it will explode onto the market.Coretronic Corporation has been investing in drone development since 2014. From the beginning, the focus has been on "full autonomy". The many years of development is now starting to bear fruit and the company is starting to enter the Japanese market. Besides airborne robots, Coretronic Corporation is also developing land based robots for smart factories, smart logistics, and other specific applications, which includes fully autonomous forklifts/AMR. The selling point of these robots is the integration of image recognition technologies, autonomous navigation, and high-precision motion control. This allows the robots to move stably on uneven surfaces or in narrow corridors. Based on the SLAM-based 3D model, the forklift understands its surroundings and its position, uses AI to identify different pallet types, and connects to the backend assignment system to deliver the goods from point A to point B. The key technologies involved in this process are all related to the four subsidiaries.CP Wang, senior director of the Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corporation Career Development Center, stated that when the company started to develop drones in 2014, the company utilized the innovative energy of Silicon Valley to successfully create fully autonomous movement and replace traditional remote control methods. The new system reduces the need for manpower, improves efficiency, and captures data. At the same time, the company discovered that the communication structure is also an important part of the system. Drones do not only need to integrate Edge and AI and incorporate environmental data, they also need to connect to the safety monitoring system of the site, in order to fulfill their roles within a specified range, such as safety maintenance, basic equipment testing, patrols of energy facilities, and 3D project mapping. Therefore, the robots are very reliant on the communication system.Creating the value of innovative services for users as a verticals expertIt is worth mentioning that as video recording technologies improve exponentially, resolutions have gone from 2K to 4K and now 8K. In addition, cameras are now equipped on airborne drones instead of being stationary on the ground. These improvements in technology allows for the recording of video from a wider range of angles. It is evident that the combination of the vast amount of video data with AI analysis will provide significant benefits to operators of large-scale sites. People are no longer required to inspect every corner of the site and operators can clearly monitor and detect any environmental changes at any time. However, to reach this goal, the reasoning response time of AI must be improved. The use of AIoT smart terminals is not enough. The system must be integrated with 5G to maximize the value of its application.With regard to smart cloud services, verticals such as smart advertising and smart retail have been introduced at this stage. Starting in 2016, the first smart projection advertising wall was introduced in Taipei MRT, and more precise advertising services were provided through the cloud and crowd analysis technology. More than 20,000 smart advertising billboards have been introduced around Taiwan. In the future, the higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater number of connections provided by 5G technology will facilitate real-time streaming and two-way interactions, further improve the visual experience. In terms of smart manufacturing, the 5G network is used to construct a digitized manufacturing information platform to achieve real-time transmission and storage safety. Combined with Coretronic Corporation MEMS sensor components and predictive diagnostic AI, real-time monitoring of the equipment can be achieved. In addition, the integration of industrial Internet of Things, autonomous mobile robots, and the Coretronic Corporation smart cloud platform will realize the smart and automated production model of Industry 4.0.In the future, Coretronic Corporation expects that as the 5G era approaches, the rules of the market will change and form a new business model of B2B2X. The first "B" represents the telecommunications industry; the second "B" represents the verticals expert; and the "X" represents anyone. It could be a person, institution, site, or various smart terminals such as webcams, sensors, robots, AGV, or self-driving cars.In past B2B2X projects, generally the telecommunications company played the role of SI and the verticals expert would assist. This is because the telecommunications company was in control of the communication resources. However, in the 5G era, network configurations have become more diversified. Communications is no longer the key element that influences the value of projects. Following this, experts in a field and system solution providers who possess key technologies for different industries gain a bigger say and more control than they had in the past. Through their collaboration with telecom companies, they will advance from the supporting role and assume the main role, creating more innovative service value for end users. This is the role Coretronic Corporation wishes to play in the future.Coretronic Corporation CTO and AI Application Research Center Vice President Robert Hsueh

MediaTek and Qualcomm may be the dominant players in the 5G smartphone SoC sector, but Chinese phone vendors Oppo and Xiaomi are mounting a challenge by developing their own chips. Shortages plaguing the semidoncutor industry are sending firms scrambling for supply. NOR flash chipmakers say that more of their clients are now willing to strike long-term supply contracts. For backend firms, demand from MCU clients remains robust.Unisoc, Oppo, Xiaomi gearing up for new 5G mobile chips roll-outs: Oppo and Xiaomi will introduce their in-house-developed sub-6GHz 5G chip solutions between late 2021 and early 2022, joining fabless chipmaker Unisoc in competing against chip vendors such as Qualcomm and MediaTek, according to industry sources in Taiwan.NOR flash chipmakers see more customers eager for long-term deals: Taiwan-based NOR flash chipmakers have seen more of their clients eager to strike long-term supply agreements, according to industry sources.Backend firms see persistently strong demand for MCUs: Backend firms including ASE Technology, Greatek Electronics, Lingsen Precision Industries and Orient Semiconductor Electronics (OSE) continue to enjoy strong packaging demand for MCUs used in diverse applications ranging from consumer electronics, medical care to automotive electronics, according to industry sources.