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

Of the seven semiconductor fabs completed in Japan during fiscal 2023–2024 (April 2023 to March 2025), only three had begun mass production by April 2025. New facilities from Kioxia, Renesas Electronics, Rohm Semiconductor, and Sanken Electric remain inactive, while Sony has launched production but is moving forward conservatively

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

Japan's behind-the-meter energy storage market is entering a period of significant policy benefits. Driven by subsidy programs and residential demand, the market is rapidly heating up with simultaneous growth in applications and distribution channels. Taiwan-based energy IoT platform provider NextDrive has strategically positioned itself ahead of this trend, recently announcing partnerships with leading Japanese home energy storage brand Choshu Industry (CIC) and Hanwha Japan, boosting its market share ranking to third place with plans to challenge for second place in 2025

Robin Zeng, Chairman of CATL, announced on May 18, 2025, that electric vehicles could comprise 50% of all new heavy-duty truck sales in China by 2028, rising sharply from 10% in 2025. According to Reuters, East Money, and Gasgoo, the forecast highlights China's accelerating freight electrification and CATL's evolving multi-sector strategy

China's Ministry of Commerce has denounced new US restrictions targeting Huawei's artificial intelligence (AI) chips, arguing the move threatens the recently established trade consensus between the two nations in Geneva. The Ministry urged Washington to "immediately correct its wrongful actions" and cease what it called discriminatory measures against Chinese companies

Tata Electronics is reportedly expanding its Apple business from iPhone enclosure manufacturing to mobile phone assembly at its new Hosur facility as Apple faces pressure to reduce its reliance on China

Once a pillar of Japan's automotive might, Nissan now finds itself in financial peril, with talks of potential mergers or alliances repeatedly falling through. After a failed merger attempt with Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, reports from Japanese media suggest that Toyota—Japan's largest and most influential carmaker—may be quietly extending a helping hand. However, neither Toyota nor Nissan has confirmed the rumors through official channels

Samsung Electronics' Visual Display (VD) Business has reportedly entered "emergency management" mode in response to falling global TV market share and rising LCD panel costs—two critical factors driving the company's internal shakeup. According to The Korea Economic Daily, Yonhap News Agency, and Korea Daily News, Yong Seok-woo, President and Head of the VD Business, recently told executives the division would adopt tighter operational policies as part of a broader crisis response strategy

South Korean chip giant SK Hynix has placed significant orders for thermal compression bonding (TCB) equipment with two domestic suppliers, Hanwha Semitech and Hanmi Semiconductor, signaling a strategic push to expand its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing capabilities

Huawei, on May 19, 2025, launched its first personal computers powered by HarmonyOS, after five years of development involving more than 10,000 engineers. The MateBook Pro and MateBook Fold Ultimate Design are the first laptops to run HarmonyOS 5, marking a pivotal moment in China's drive for full-stack operating system autonomy in the PC sector

Years after launching the Pinecone Surge S1 in 2017, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun announced the company's return to in-house smartphone chip design. Its new self-developed SoC, the XRing O1, is set to debut on May 22. Lei disclosed that Xiaomi has poured over CNY13.5 billion (approx. US$1.87 billion) into developing the XRing, supported by a 2,500-strong engineering team. The company plans to invest an additional CNY6 billion in R&D in 2025

Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Foxconn, has announced a capital injection into its Indian subsidiary, Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Limited, as part of a long-term investment strategy

The year 2025 marks a significant moment for the Chinese-speaking semiconductor industry, presenting a striking contrast