Malaysia is walking a diplomatic tightrope as a locally initiated artificial intelligence project involving Chinese tech giant Huawei has drawn scrutiny from both the US and China, testing the country's resolve to remain neutral amid escalating global tech rivalries

Japanese PCB maker Meiko is ramping up its capex to JPY51 billion (US$351 million) for the fiscal year ending March 2026—a 70% increase from its earlier plan—as it accelerates efforts to diversify production away from China, particularly to meet the needs of a key smartphone client widely believed to be Apple

As Nvidia chooses to build its overseas headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan's government is promising to be more than a host. It wants to be Nvidia's strongest ally. But can it keep that promise

Taiwan-based Inventec is ramping up its global production capabilities in response to rising geopolitical risks and growing demand for AI servers. The company is expanding its manufacturing footprint in Texas and Thailand, aiming to strengthen regional supply chains and better serve customers worldwide

After quarters of growth, Southeast Asian countries witnessed declining smartphone shipments in the first quarter as the entry-level segment experienced uncertainties and high inventories

Just one day after announcing plans to deploy 3,000 Huawei Ascend-powered AI servers by 2026, Malaysia's Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching abruptly retracted the statement on May 20. The reversal, amid heightened US-China tech tensions, casts uncertainty over the sensitive project's future and Malaysia's AI infrastructure strategy

As the global electronics industry braces for the disruptive effects of renewed tariff tensions under the Trump administration's trade policy revival, two sectors appear to be emerging largely unscathed: military-grade rugged computing and AI servers

Phison Electronics Corp. expects robust growth in the second half of 2025, driven by tighter NAND flash supply and surging demand for its controller chips. The easing of US-China trade tensions and recent tariff reductions between the world's two largest economies have spurred system vendors to accelerate orders and shipments, particularly in May and June

As global supply chains pivot toward regional hubs, ASEAN is stepping into the spotlight. Singapore has emerged as a research and development hub for leading integrated circuit (IC) design firms, with its influence extending to the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ)

Amid the renewed US-China trade tensions and fierce price competition from Chinese peers, the industry trend of "China Minus One" has resurfaced, spreading from outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers upstream to the IC substrate supply chain

Singapore and Malaysia's collaborative "Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone" has emerged as a magnet for investment, positioning the region as a pivotal node in Southeast Asia's AI data center supply chain. Beyond this, both nations boast decades of expertise in the semiconductor sector

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of May 12 – May 18. From China's push in DUV lithography and Samsung's resurgence in foundry orders to TSMC's aggressive fab expansion and Europe's looming ban on Chinese inverters, the week highlighted shifting power dynamics across the global tech and semiconductor landscape

A new wave of capital expenditure is sweeping through Taiwan's electronics manufacturing sector, as major firms like Quanta Computer and Foxconn significantly raise their 2025 investment budgets to build new facilities and expand production capacity

Topoint Technology, a Taiwanese supplier of PCB drill bits and drilling services, anticipates revenue growth in the second quarter of 2025, fueled by stable order volumes during the tariff equivalence grace period. However, uncertainty surrounding potential US tariffs continues to cloud demand projections for the second half of the year, posing challenges for the company's planning

Following recent trade talks, the US and China have reached a temporary pause on escalating tariffs, with both sides retreating from previously announced increases. While the deal offers some relief, industry experts caution that disruption to global supply chains is already evident, with three major aftershocks now surfacing across the electronics manufacturing sector