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Friday 13 March 2026
South Korea passes US$350 billion investment act to anchor Korea-US strategic partnership
South Korea's National Assembly approved the Special Act on Investment in the US on March 12, 2026, authorizing US$350 billion in strategic investments and creating a state-backed corporation to manage the program, according to Yonhap and Hangyung
LATEST STORIES
Monday 16 March 2026
Visionox starts 8.6-gen OLED equipment orders, intensifying China–Korea race for IT displays
Visionox has reportedly begun equipment procurement for an 8.6-generation OLED production line, a move that could challenge Samsung Display's (SDC) early lead. SDC gained an advantage by supplying OLED panels for Apple MacBook products, but South Korea's display industry is closely watching China's panel makers as BOE, TCL CSOT, and Visionox accelerate construction of 8.6-generation OLED lines, raising the prospect of a shift in competitive dynamics
Monday 16 March 2026
Interview: Taiwan's industrial spirit — the hidden geopolitical layer
As the world braces for the Trump-Xi summit scheduled for March 31 to April 2, headlines are dominated by the petrodollar, the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and the Anthropic ban. Yet beneath these shifts lies a hidden layer that determines the viability of the entire Western digital economy: Taiwan's untransferable industrial spirit
Saturday 14 March 2026
AI boom lifts global foundry revenue to record US$169.5bn, demand risks surface for 2026
Global semiconductor foundries rebounded strongly in 2025 as artificial intelligence workloads and premium smartphone chips boosted advanced-node demand, though rising memory prices and weakening consumer electronics demand could pose headwinds for the sector in 2026
Friday 13 March 2026
China's Nexchip signals wafer price hikes amid capacity expansion and CIS growth
Nexchip has confirmed that it has raised prices for certain wafer foundry products, aligning its pricing strategy with market conditions, customer demand, and ongoing operational improvements, according to the company's March 6, 2025 investor relations briefing, released on March 9, 2025
Friday 13 March 2026
Chip material prices double, compound semiconductor supply chain on alert

The Middle East conflict is raising concerns over global energy supply and driving sharp increases in semiconductor material costs. Compound semiconductor manufacturers say prices for high-temperature metals, including tungsten, tantalum, and molybdenum, have doubled, while gallium prices have also surged. At the same time, shortages of indium phosphide (InP) substrates persist due to supply-demand imbalances and geopolitical disruptions such as export controls

Friday 13 March 2026
China's NDRC warns memory price surge spreading across electronics supply chain
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has issued a rare monitoring report warning that rising memory prices are spreading across the electronics supply chain as tight supply and strong demand push up DRAM and NAND flash prices
Friday 13 March 2026
Middle East turmoil disrupts South Korean SME exports, stokes chip supply concerns
Escalating instability in the Middle East stemming from the Iran crisis is disrupting South Korean exporters and raising concerns about potential supply chain risks for the country's semiconductor industry, according to South Korean media reports
Friday 13 March 2026
T1200 carbon fiber upgrade raises stakes in aerospace, robotics, and advanced manufacturing

Carbon fiber, known for high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance, is often described as "black gold," the "king of new materials," and one of the strongest materials on earth. China's T1200-grade carbon fiber has appeared overseas, highlighting continued technological upgrades in China's high-performance materials sector and drawing international attention

Friday 13 March 2026
Apple slashes App Store commission in China following discussions with regulators
Apple will lower commission rates charged on digital purchases in the China App Store, reducing the standard fee for in-app purchases and paid apps from 30% to 25%, according to reports in Chinese media citing company disclosures
Friday 13 March 2026
China claims T1200 carbon fiber mass production, opening doors to semiconductors and robotics
China's advanced materials sector has made new strides. China National Building Material Group (CNBM) unveiled a domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber at the JEC World 2026 composites exhibition in Paris, stating it has achieved production capacity at the hundred-ton scale
Thursday 12 March 2026
Middle East conflict raises helium supply risks for South Korean chipmakers
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reviewing their helium supply strategies as tensions in the Middle East disrupt key logistics routes, raising concerns over the availability of a gas essential to semiconductor manufacturing
Thursday 12 March 2026
Samsung reportedly wins foldable iPhone DRAM supply deal; 12GB LPDDR5X prices double
Samsung has reportedly secured an order to supply 12GB LPDDR5X DRAM for Apple's first foldable iPhone, negotiating a sharply higher price than in previous memory contracts
Thursday 12 March 2026
AMD CEO Lisa Su reportedly plans South Korea trip for Samsung, Naver talks during Nvidia GTC

Reports indicate AMD CEO Lisa Su will visit South Korea in the coming days to discuss cooperation with Samsung Electronics and Naver. Some observers view the trip as an effort to challenge Nvidia's dominance in the AI market by strengthening AMD's partnerships with South Korean companies

Thursday 12 March 2026
China's space surge: reusable rockets and mega-constellations reshape rivalry with US
China conducted more than 90 orbital launches in 2025 and achieved several milestones, including collecting samples from the far side of the Moon, constructing a low-Earth orbit (LEO) space station, and landing a Mars rover. The progress highlights China's rapid rise in space capabilities and its growing challenge to the US's long-standing leadership
Thursday 12 March 2026
SMIC flags supply squeeze in memory, BCD chips
China's largest contract chipmaker, SMIC, says orders for mature-node memory and BCD processes are running at full capacity, pushing prices higher as AI demand tightens supply across the semiconductor industry