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Thursday 2 April 2026
Copper price surge drives quarterly lead frame price hikes
Lead frame packaging suppliers are hiking prices to pass along rising costs sweeping through the semiconductor supply chain. Gold, silver, and copper prices continue to climb sharply, significantly raising raw material costs. At the same time, the inventory reduction cycle within the mature process semiconductor market is nearing completion, prompting customers to ramp up orders.
Thursday 2 April 2026
Asahi Kasei enters AI chip fiberglass market to challenge Nittobo's dominance
Japan's Asahi Kasei has announced its official entry into the AI chip supply chain with fiberglass cloth as an insulating substrate material, targeting the current global leader Nittobo, which holds a 90% market share. Meanwhile, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) also plans to invest in AI-specific fiberglass cloth, signaling accelerated competition among Japanese materials makers for semiconductor opportunities.
Thursday 2 April 2026
Topco maintains stable shipments despite Middle East conflict, builds safety stock as AI demand accelerates
As the US-Iran conflict enters its second month, concerns are mounting over potential disruptions to global energy supplies and petrochemical feedstocks. Against this backdrop, Jeffery C.L. Pan, chairman of Taiwan's Topco Scientific, stated that the company's operations remain stable, with shipments unaffected to date and upstream cost pressures largely contained.
Thursday 2 April 2026
Denso targets US$54 billion revenue, Rohm deal faces Toshiba-Mitsubishi alliance hurdle
Japan's auto parts supplier Denso on March 31 unveiled a mid-term business plan through March 2031, targeting revenue of JPY8 trillion (approx. US$54 billion) and a return on equity (ROE) of 11%. The strategy underscores a shift toward semiconductors as a core growth driver, alongside vehicle electrification and intelligent systems, signaling ambitions beyond its traditional role as an automotive supplier.
Thursday 2 April 2026
ACME sees AI-driven shipment growth; oil price surge boosting EV demand turnaround
Benefiting from the AI infrastructure boom, Taiwan-based soft magnetic ferrite core and silicon carbide (SiC) powder supplier Acme Electronics Corporation (ACME) expects growth in its soft magnetic core business in 2026, as AI servers drive demand for high-performance passive components and SiC-based power devices.
Wednesday 1 April 2026
TSMC eyes SiPh breakthrough as industry consensus forms
TSMC is advancing its silicon photonics (SiPh) advanced packaging platform, Compact Universal Photonic Engine (COUPE), shifting from development to commercial mass production. TSMC vice president and co-chair of the SEMI Silicon Photonics Industry Alliance (SiPhIA), K.C. Hsu, said that over the past 3-6 months, the industry has gradually reached a consensus on the technology roadmap and direction for the next 3-5 years. SiPh has also been designated by the government as a key policy focus in this new era.
Wednesday 1 April 2026
SDI targets AI and heat spreader growth
Power leadframe manufacturer SDI said it is benefiting from the gradual ramp-up of new applications related to artificial intelligence (AI), with around 40 new AI product projects currently in progress. The company expects AI products to account for more than 10% of monthly revenue by the end of 2026. This is projected to raise the annual contribution of AI revenue from 1% in 2025 to above the mid-single-digit range.
Wednesday 1 April 2026
Samsung's 2nm Exynos 2600 loses to Qualcomm's 3nm on battery and thermals
Samsung's Exynos 2600 application processor (AP), built on the company's 2nm process, lags in battery endurance behind Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 — a 3nm chip — by about 30%, according to a recent test. This gap has had a tangible impact on Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S26 series, with battery life varying significantly across regions depending on which AP the device uses.
Wednesday 1 April 2026
Lumentum expands InP production in North Carolina to capture AI infrastructure demand across GPU and ASIC ecosystems
US-based optical communications leader Lumentum is making a major investment in core AI data center hardware, reinforcing its strategic position in the AI infrastructure supply chain. As global tech giants continue to ramp up AI computing deployments, demand for high-performance optical interconnect components is surging, and Lumentum's expansion directly responds to this trend.
Wednesday 1 April 2026
Top 10 Chart: Taiwan's chip toolmakers re-rated as AI bottlenecks trump scale
The first quarter of 2026 has marked a decisive shift in how Taiwan's semiconductor equipment sector is valued. While February's accumulated revenue rankings continue to reflect the operational momentum of the early AI upcycle, capital market performance through March suggests that investors are no longer anchored to scale alone. Instead, valuation is increasingly driven by proximity to the most constrained segments of the AI supply chain — particularly advanced packaging and testing.
Tuesday 31 March 2026
Elite Material plans multi-country expansion to reach 9.45 million CCL sheets monthly capacity by 2027
Elite Material (EMC), a leading Taiwanese copper-clad laminate (CCL) manufacturer, announced the completion of capacity expansions at its Huangshi and Zhongshan plants in China and its Penang plant in Malaysia in 2025. Over the next two years, the company will launch a new round of investments to simultaneously expand production in Taiwan, China, and Malaysia, targeting a global monthly capacity of 9.45 million sheets by the end of 2027.
Tuesday 31 March 2026
Top 10 chart: Taiwan's AI winners diverge as market corrects ahead of lagging revenue data

By late March, Taiwan's equity market is offering a more nuanced read of the AI infrastructure boom. While accumulated revenue and year-over-year growth through February continue to point to strong structural demand, recent share price movements suggest that the market has begun to recalibrate expectations. The result is a growing divergence between backward-looking financial data and forward-looking capital market signals.

Tuesday 31 March 2026
Huawei poaches top scientist as Germany's tenure rules drive talent away
Huawei has recruited a leading scientist from a German research institute, raising concerns among the German government and academic circles. According to Nikkei Asia, Martin Schell, formerly director of Germany's Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), announced his departure and moved to the UK in March to become research director at Huawei's Bragg Research Center.
Tuesday 31 March 2026
DDI price hikes mainly aim to pass on costs, not boost profits
The recent surge in display driver IC (DDI) price hikes has spread from China to Taiwan, with reports indicating that Taiwanese DDI design firms will begin raising prices starting in the second quarter of 2026 to reflect escalating supply chain costs. Besides DDIs, related chip products such as T-Con, touch ICs, and power management ICs (PMICs) may also see price adjustments depending on negotiations with individual customers. Reported increases range from 5-15%, with some cases reaching up to 20%.
Tuesday 31 March 2026
Fuel cell shift to metal bipolar plates opens door for Taiwan manufacturers
The Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) held the "2026 Metal Bipolar Plate Drives New Generation of Hydrogen Energy Symposium" on March 27, focusing on fuel cell and metal bipolar plate (BP) market developments and analyzing global supply chain dynamics.
Monday 30 March 2026
Passive component maker Tai-Tech wins US client, scales Malaysia plant for AI server, EV demand

Taiwan inductor maker Tai-Tech has begun mass production at its Malaysia plant, targeting customers shifting supply chains away from China. The facility has secured a qualification from a US networking equipment provider, supporting new AI-related orders and expected volume growth from 2026.

Monday 30 March 2026
Tai-Tech flags AI, auto demand as inductor price hikes loom
Taiwan-based inductor maker Tai-Tech Advanced Electronics said artificial intelligence and automotive electronics will drive growth in 2026, as rising raw material costs are setting the stage for another round of price hikes.
Saturday 28 March 2026
Holy Stone Enterprise expands Japan and Taiwan capacity, signaling tighter MLCC supply for AI power supplies
Holy Stone Enterprise plans to invest another NT$3 billion (US$94 million) to add a production line at its Hokkaido R&D center and expand capacity at its Yilan Lize plant in Taiwan as it targets growing demand from AI high-power power supplies.
Friday 27 March 2026
PCB material shortages intensify as CCL lead times hit 6 months, quota system imposed
The surge in AI applications driving PCB material upgrades is exacerbating upstream raw material supply shortages. Notably, besides ongoing price hikes, some IC substrate makers report that limited production capacity for glass fiber cloth and copper foil has tightened supply of copper-clad laminates (CCL) for months. This shortage has extended product lead times to as long as 6 months, forcing related companies to implement a "quota system."
Friday 27 March 2026
Eikei targets automotive and AI markets, establishes Slovakia subsidiary
Automotive printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer Eikei Group announced plans to establish a subsidiary in Slovakia, aiming to diversify geopolitical risks across its three major markets in Europe, the Americas, and Asia in 2026. Company chairman Shih-lin Liu added that the rapid growth momentum of artificial intelligence (AI) servers is expected to drive profitability higher.
Friday 27 March 2026
UPS and Applied Materials boost Taiwan semiconductor logistics with new Taoyuan hub
Targeting the growing needs of Taiwan's high-tech and semiconductor sectors, UPS has officially launched its Taoyuan International Logistics Center (TILC) with a total investment nearing US$100 million. Part of the warehouse space is dedicated to Applied Materials as its Asia-Pacific storage and distribution center, providing customers with 24/7 operational services.
Thursday 26 March 2026
Innos set for late April listing on TPEx, riding advanced packaging boom
Probe card automation equipment maker Innostar Service (Innos) is expected to list on the Taipei Exchange (TPEx) main board in late April 2026. With artificial intelligence (AI) applications driving demand in the semiconductor industry, the probe card market is anticipated to grow rapidly, supporting strong revenue growth and sustained high gross margins for the company in 2026.
Thursday 26 March 2026
Holy Stone expects AI-driven surge in MLCC demand to lift 2026 revenue
Holy Stone Enterprise expects a 20–30% rise in passive component revenue in 2026 as demand for high-power AI server components accelerates globally. Doubling AI product sales could improve profits by shifting to a higher-value product mix, with implications for supply chains and procurement across data center and server manufacturers worldwide, as well as enterprise customers.
Thursday 26 March 2026
Lelon Electronics eyes 10% revenue growth in 2026 driven by automotive and AI servers
Lelon Electronics expects shipments to rise in 2026, driven by automotive electronics and AI servers, with wider supply-chain and pricing implications for global electronics manufacturers and suppliers as inventory buildups and pull-in deliveries reshape component flows and capacity planning worldwide.
Thursday 26 March 2026
Broadcom to mass-produce 400G single-lane PAM4 DSP by 2027, vows to maintain lead
Broadcom recently announced that it completed development of a 400G single-lane PAM4 digital signal processor (DSP) at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2026, signaling accelerated progress toward higher-speed optical links, with implications for global data center scalability, AI deployments, and supply-chain dynamics as the industry awaits volume production and wider market adoption over the coming years.