FIC Global (FICG) returned to growth in the third quarter of 2026, driven by the gradual ramp-up of overseas capacity in its optical communications business and strong demand for high-speed optical modules used in AI data centers. The company said its 1.6T products have entered mass production, while 3.2T and 6.4T products are moving into pilot production, strengthening its outlook.

Taiwan is benefiting from the global AI infrastructure boom, with GDP per capita projected to reach US$46,000 in 2026 and economic growth conservatively forecast at more than 11%. China's economy, however, is expected to grow between 4.3% and 4.8% for the year, averaging 4.6% and landing near the lower end of the government's 4.5%-5% target.

Samsung Electronics is expanding its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging operations in South Korea as its Cheonan campus runs short of space, prompting the company to develop nearby Onyang into another major production base for advanced AI memory.

AI has propelled the global semiconductor market to record highs, but growth remains concentrated in memory, advanced logic and advanced packaging, areas in which Europe has limited strength. At this week's SEMICON Europa forum in Munich, SEMI and TechInsights identified power semiconductors as Europe's strongest entry point into the AI data centre boom.

A network of companies tied to Alice Huang, the alleged Chinese intelligence operative involved in a romantic relationship with former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, recently invested in Chinese AI powerhouse DeepSeek to help secure a steady supply of banned Nvidia Blackwell chips, according to reports and corporate records referenced by The Information.

Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, is struggling to gain traction in China, the world's largest foldable phone market. Quality concerns, falling resale prices and compatibility problems with major Chinese apps, including WeChat, have fuelled growing consumer dissatisfaction.

SpaceX and Tesla are advancing merger negotiations that could create a US$3.4 trillion conglomerate spanning electric vehicles, aerospace, and artificial intelligence, potentially setting a record for global dealmaking. An announcement could come as early as December 2026, although regulatory hurdles and the companies' competing interests in China and US defense remain significant obstacles.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) expects artificial intelligence (AI) demand to keep chip supply tight through mid-2028, even as equipment lead times of up to two years slow its own capacity build-out, executives said on the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings call.

Nvidia founder and former CEO Jensen Huang has agreed to appear before the US House of Representatives ahead of the holiday break, addressing export controls and related controversies. Several senior lawmakers had previously threatened to subpoena Huang over Nvidia's business strategy in China and related policy issues.

SK Hynix's sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) production yield has reportedly surpassed 70%, Chosun Biz reported on November 12, citing semiconductor industry sources, as rival Samsung Electronics moves ahead with a major chip packaging expansion.

A dispute between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over how hard to police Nvidia chip shipments to China has moved to the center of Washington's fallout from espionage allegations involving Nvidia's former CEO, with White House officials discussing whether Lutnick should be pushed out and lawmakers pressing his department to add Chinese firms that have been left alone to its Entity List.

The loophole that lets Chinese AI developers rent Nvidia chips in overseas data centers is becoming the main target of a tougher US export-control push. Democrats swept both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterms, and the Commerce Department is moving to finalize its own remote-access rule. The stakes are large: remote access accounts for about half of the US-made AI compute that Washington could still cut off from China by the end of 2027, according to the Institute for Progress (IFP).

SMIC's record third-quarter revenue and sharper rise in operating profit point to stronger factory throughput, while the lower net result against the prior quarter shows how investment-related income can obscure the underlying manufacturing trend. The company expects sales to keep growing in the fourth quarter, but its margin guidance signals that the exceptional third-quarter level may not hold.

Samsung Electronics is targeting an exit from its 8-inch foundry business by the end of 2029, a year earlier than previously reported, and has been outsourcing some production to Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), South Korea's Dealsite reported on November 12, citing industry sources.

Naver said on November 12 it had signed a KRW2 trillion (approx. US$1.5 billion) AI computing services contract with a US-based AI inference company, securing its first major customer for the AI Factory business it is developing with Nvidia and Brookfield.