Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) has officially shut down its smartphone motherboard (HDI) factory in Kunshan, China, as part of a broader strategy to pivot toward higher-value business segments. The company confirmed that it completed the liquidation of the Kunshan facility by the end of 2024, effectively ending its presence in the smartphone HDI market
The Japanese government will send officials to the US in March 2025 to discuss various tariff issues, including potential exemptions for the 2nm chips produced by Rapidus. They believe that due to their technical collaboration with IBM, these products should qualify for exemption from Trump's tariff regime
The global electric vehicle (EV) market is evolving rapidly, and Japan's legacy automakers are at the center of the latest industry shakeup. Following the collapse of the Honda-Nissan partnership, reports suggest that a new "four-party collaboration framework" may be in the works
DeepSeek, China's open-source large language model (LLM), is rapidly gaining momentum as state-owned enterprises eagerly embrace the AI platform. More than 20 Chinese state-owned firms have already integrated DeepSeek across the energy, telecommunications, automotive, and financial sectors
Suzuki Motor Corporation unveiled its new mid-term business plan in February 2025, detailing an ambitious investment of JPY4 trillion (US$26.5 billion) through the end of March 2031. The plan aims to position India at the heart of the company's strategy, as it seeks to establish a robust growth foundation in emerging markets across the Global South
The 2025 Global Developer Conference (GDC) was held in Shanghai from February 22 to 23, gathering top executives, developers, and industry professionals. Unlike other participants, DeepSeek chose not to participate in open forums or exhibits, preferring closed-door meetings and seminars. Industry insiders were caught up by its unusual "low-key" manner
The emergence of China's DeepSeek has shocked the US market and impacted Nvidia's market value. Now, with the official launch of Grok 3 by xAI, a company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it is evident that the US generative AI (GenAI) industry is still reliant on Nvidia's advanced AI chips to provide powerful computing capabilities
The swift progression of AI is accelerating automation within the manufacturing sector. Contributing significantly to this trend is China's DeepSeek, which provides a cost-effective solution that is prompting Chinese manufacturers to embrace this technology, fostering an industrial transformation
Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union have tentatively agreed to a 5.1% wage increase and stock awards for staff in 2025, signaling efforts by the two sides to defuse tensions that triggered the company's first-ever labor strike last year
The global AI boom is set to keep high bandwidth memory (HBM) in short supply through 2025, as demand surges across AI and data-intensive applications, according to experts at SEMICON Korea 2025. Industry forecasts project a 67% expansion in the HBM market by 2025, reinforcing AI's role as the driving force behind semiconductor sector growth
Japan's drive for carbon neutrality by 2050 has spurred increased demand for renewable energy infrastructure, from charging stations to energy storage and hydrogen technology. This transition has caught the attention of Taiwanese firms, who are preparing to showcase their innovations at the upcoming 2025 Smart Energy Week
JASM, TSMC's Japan subsidiary, plans to build a second wafer fab in Kumamoto. The firm states that construction will begin in 2025, possibly later than the initially stated first quarter. Despite this, production is still set to start by the end of 2027, according to RKK Kumamoto Broadcasting and Kumamotonichinichi Shimbun
Guangdong Haoqin Robotics Technology was recently registered, with Huanke Wu listed as its legal representative. The company, which has a registered capital of CNY10 million (approx. US$1.38 million), focuses on developing and selling intelligent robots, manufacturing industrial robotics, and advancing artificial intelligence (AI) applications
As the world adjusts to the evolving landscape of Trump 2.0's new policies, the global manufacturing sector finds itself at the precipice of another significant restructuring. While the turbulence of both the Trump 1.0 and Biden administrations over the past eight years left a lasting impact, the latest wave of policy changes still reverberated through component suppliers. With market share expansion in China remaining a priority, some smaller companies have already begun quietly repositioning their assets in response to shifting dynamics
