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Wednesday 13 May 2026
Commentary: Trump's China dealbook favors Boeing, soybeans, and Wall Street over AI chips

Against a backdrop of persistently high tensions between the US and China, the upcoming Trump-Xi summit is being closely watched not only for its implications for trade, technology controls, and geopolitics, but also as a key signal of how both sides are reassessing the remaining areas where cooperation may still be possible

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Thursday 14 May 2026
SoftBank looks beyond mobile with data center, battery push
SoftBank is committing JPY1 trillion (US$6.34 billion) through fiscal 2030 to make artificial intelligence, data centers, and energy infrastructure its next growth engines, according to company materials as well as Bloomberg and Nikkei reports
Thursday 14 May 2026
Exclusive: US energy storage market rushes to buy domestic made batteries as restrictions on China tightens
US policy tilts the market, driving buyers to US-made lithium batteries despite higher costs, with global supply chains and investment flows likely to shift as subsidies, tariffs, and tight reviews reshape where and how energy storage systems are sourced and built over the coming years, and policy uncertainty
Thursday 14 May 2026
Samsung and SK Hynix rush to expand capacity as AI memory demand soars
The artificial intelligence(AI) boom is triggering an unprecedented expansion race among the world's largest memory chipmakers
Thursday 14 May 2026
Alibaba faces mounting margin pressure as AI investments accelerate
Analysts gave Alibaba Group Holding's latest results a cautious reception, warning that surging artificial intelligence (AI) investments are pressuring profitability even as cloud growth accelerates. While investors welcomed strong AI-related momentum and rising cloud revenue, several research firms said heavy infrastructure spending and weaker-than-expected earnings underscored the mounting costs of Alibaba's ambitious AI expansion
Thursday 14 May 2026
Tencent eyes Chinese ASIC ramp in 2H26
Tencent Holdings Limited reported a 9% year-over-year increase in total revenue to CNY196 billion (approx. US$28.86 billion) for the first quarter of 2026, driven by a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence (AI) and stabilized growth in its core gaming and advertising segments. Company executives highlighted the quarter as a turning point, noting "significant initial progress on our new AI products" while continuing to integrate machine learning across existing business lines
Thursday 14 May 2026
US court cleared Apple to seek documents from Samsung's Korea HQ in DOJ antitrust case
A US federal court in New Jersey granted Apple the right to pursue internal records from Samsung Electronics' South Korea headquarters as part of Apple's response to the Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, according to South Korean outlets Ddaily and Digital Today. The court approved Apple's Hague Evidence Convention request in April 2026, determining there was good cause and rejecting the DOJ's contention that Apple had begun discovery nine months late
Thursday 14 May 2026
Sharp delays Kameyama LCD shutdown as losses mount
Sharp is delaying the shutdown of its Kameyama No. 2 LCD plant to December from August, as customer demand has held up stronger than expected ahead of the planned production halt
Thursday 14 May 2026
NSK-NTN merger to create the world's largest bearing maker
Japan's NSK and NTN have agreed to pursue a merger that would create the world's largest bearing maker, as rising costs, slowing demand, and Chinese competition push Japan's industrial suppliers toward consolidation
Thursday 14 May 2026
China's semiconductor godfather warns against 2nm fixation
While the global semiconductor industry remains fixated on 3nm, 2nm, and the AI GPU arms race, SMIC founder and "China's semiconductor godfather" Zhang Rujing is pushing a sharply different message: the future of China's chip industry may depend less on chasing the world's most advanced nodes and more on dominating the vast market still built on mature processes
Thursday 14 May 2026
Korea races to narrow chip packaging gap with Taiwan and China

AI server demand is pushing semiconductor packaging into a new growth cycle, but the market remains heavily concentrated among a small group of global outsourced semiconductor assembly and test leaders and Taiwanese and Chinese companies, sharpening the challenge for South Korea's back-end chip industry

Wednesday 13 May 2026
Dixon Technologies sees margin pressure as stagnation offsets full-year growth
Dixon Technologies reported fiscal 2026 results showing full-year revenue growth, but underlying profitability momentum weakened toward the end of the year, with a flat fourth quarter and mounting cost pressures across its core electronics manufacturing services (EMS) business
Wednesday 13 May 2026
Taiwan capacitor maker Chinsan locks in Thailand AI server capacity through 2026

Taiwan Chinsan Electronic Industrial said strong demand from cloud and server customers pushed related revenue contribution to 35% in the first quarter of 2026, with high-margin AI server applications accounting for roughly half of the segment

Wednesday 13 May 2026
L&T Semiconductor Technologies signs multiyear agreement with Synopsys for AI-enabled power module design
L&T Semiconductor Technologies' multiyear agreement with Synopsys to use AI-enabled multiphysics simulation software could accelerate the development of power modules and intelligent power modules, potentially affecting global electric mobility, renewable energy, and industrial automation by improving design efficiency, reliability, and time-to-market for next-generation power electronics, and by enhancing supply-chain resilience
Wednesday 13 May 2026
TECO expands into AI data centers with Malaysia acquisition deal
Taiwan-based industrial manufacturer TECO Electric & Machinery said on May 12 that its board had approved the acquisition of Malaysian engineering firm Dynaciate Engineering Sdn. Bhd. for about RM200 million (approx. US$50.8 million), in a deal expected to close in August 2026. After completion, TECO will gain controlling ownership, with revenue and earnings from the acquired company expected to begin contributing to consolidated results in the second half of 2026
Wednesday 13 May 2026
India's smartphone shipments fall in 1Q26, signaling value-led market shift
India's smartphone shipments fell 4.1% year over year to 31.0 million units in the first quarter of 2026, according to IDC. Rising memory prices and subdued consumer demand pushed average selling prices higher, reshaping the balance between volume and value in the world's second-largest smartphone market — and signaling a structural shift that carries significant implications for global suppliers