Under pressure from low-cost competition in China, many application sectors are struggling to turn a profit. Recently, the compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) industry has seen reports of major manufacturers experiencing fatigue and reduced willingness to invest, even considering more aggressive strategies. This could trigger sectoral shifts within the "non-China GaN supply chain."

ThinTech Materials Technology (TTMC), a subsidiary of China Steel Corporation, experienced conservative shipment momentum in the first quarter of 2025 due to delays in customer verification schedules from IDM giants and panel manufacturers, as well as the recycling use of FOPLP (Fan-Out Panel Level Packaging) carriers.

Global interconnect solutions provider BizLink Group opened a new facility in Tainan on June 26, underscoring its focus on localized R&D and production. Chairman Roger Liang said the company is holding firm on its double-digit revenue growth target for 2025, citing surging demand for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) and stable growth in semiconductor equipment orders, despite geopolitical risks, tariffs, and currency headwinds.

Taiwan-based passive components giant Yageo announced on June 25, 2025, that its previously disclosed tender offer to acquire Japan's Shibaura has received approval from Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Investment Commission. According to relevant Japanese regulations, the takeover bid (TOB) period will be extended from the original deadline of July 1 to July 9, as Yageo continues to gradually increase its shareholding stake.

Senior executives from Nvidia, AMD, and Microsoft have frequently visited Japanese manufacturer Nitto Boseki to secure a critical raw material for AI servers: low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) glass, known as T-glass. Nitto Boseki, also called Nittobo, is currently the sole global supplier of the highest-grade fiberglass cloth crucial for AI chip production, according to multiple outlets, including Nikkei.

Industries worldwide have been dealing with a surge in litigation risk from non-practicing entities (NPEs), commonly known as "patent trolls." To help Taiwanese players defend against NPE threats, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), together with the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI), Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA), and IPIC have established the License on Transfer (LOT) Industry Alliance, with support from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), ASE Technology Holding, Powertech Technology (PTI), Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL), Vanguard International Semiconductor, Giga-Byte Technology, Arcadyan Technology, Micro-Star International (MSI), Advanced Echem Materials (AEMC), and Unimicron.

Grand Pacific Petrochemical (GPPC) has been undergoing a transition in recent years, introducing new product lines targeting the semiconductor and electric vehicle (EV) sectors.

The 2025 China 618 shopping festival has prompted a noticeable uptick in microcontroller unit (MCU) sales, signaling a tentative recovery in consumer electronics demand after sluggish domestic consumption. This resurgence is attributed largely to robust government subsidy policies and aggressive e-commerce promotions.

At the recent PSA Annual Shareholders' Meeting, CEO Anthony Chiao announced that GLOBAL BRS MANUFACTURE (GBM) has acquired two significant strategic assets: Japan's PCB manufacturer Lincstech and mechanical parts specialist Silitech Technology, which in turn has invested in FDK, a global leader in nickel-metal hydride batteries. Across its expanded group, annual revenues now exceed NT$150 billion (approx. US$5.1 billion). Chiao highlighted that the company's next phase will concentrate on integrating internal resources and implementing management succession strategies.

Aurona Industries, a PCB substrate manufacturer, reported a 1.2% revenue growth in May, driven by higher orders from the electronics industry following a temporary US tariff grace period and sustained demand in Taiwan's AI and HPC sectors.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has started supplying silicon capacitors to Marvell Technology, a leading US integrated circuit (IC) design company. This development marks Samsung Electro-Mechanics's first significant step into AI chip components, coinciding with its strategic shift to specialize in AI-related technologies.

Taiwan-based ThinTech Materials Technology held its annual general meeting on June 19, approving all proposed resolutions. The company outlined plans to scale its semiconductor business, streamline its product portfolio, and revamp production processes, with a target of boosting revenue from semiconductor-grade metal materials in 2025.

Taiwan's export orders for January-May 2024 rose 15% year on year to reach US$263.8 billion, with electronics products recording an over 25% annual growth to break the US$100 billion mark, according to the latest figures disclosed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Export orders in May 2025 arrived at US$57.93 billion, increasing 18.5% year on year.

Taiwan-based niche copper foil material manufacturer Co-Tech held its annual shareholders meeting on June 23, 2025. Chairman Raymond Soong officially stepped down after an 11-year tenure, with current president Frank Lee succeeding him as chairman. The company aims to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) technology to analyze critical process data and accelerate the development of advanced specialty copper foil products.

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from June 16 to June 22, 2025. Top developments include tighter US chip restrictions on China, updates on the next-gen 2nm race from TSMC and Samsung Electronics, and new disruptions in global supply chains driven by rare earth curbs and AI chip controls.

Global Brands Manufacture (GBM), a PCB and EMS subsidiary of Walsin Technology, recently held a shareholders' meeting led by chairman Yu-Heng Chiao to discuss acquiring Japan's Lincstech. The deal aims to boost the company's presence in AI servers, semiconductors and expand production in Singapore.

Niche PCB manufacturer FHt held its annual shareholders meeting, where general manager Taylor Lee highlighted the strong demand for AI server orders from the ASIC sector in 2025. This surge not only fills the capacity gap caused by a sluggish global automotive market but has also prompted the company to convert previously leased factory space into owned facilities to aggressively expand production. The goal is to achieve full capacity utilization across all three plants by 2026.

Surging demand for AI compute is driving global investment in GPUs, ASICs, and next-generation datacenter infrastructure. As conventional electronic interconnects fall short of meeting high-bandwidth, low-latency data exchange needs, silicon photonics (SiPh) and co-packaged optics (CPO) are emerging as foundational technologies for next-generation AI system performance.

Benefiting from a rapid recovery in memory market demand during the first half of 2025, memory packaging and testing companies are sharing in the gains. Although the US 90-day tariff exemption period is about to expire, increasing uncertainties around order visibility starting from the third quarter are expected to make customers adopt more conservative stocking strategies.

Japanese glass fiber supplier Nitto Boseki (Nittobo) reportedly has raised prices of its composite material products by up to 20% due to increasing costs, but the price hike does not include electronic-grade glass fabric materials used in IC substrates and PCBs for AI servers.

Sony Group has provided an update on its semiconductor business, particularly focusing on its position in the image sensor market. Despite failing to meet its ambitious target of capturing a 60% market share in image sensors by 2025, Sony anticipates building on record revenue and operating profit for fiscal year 2024, which spans from April 2024 to March 2025. The company sees growth potential across various image sensor applications.

As artificial intelligence (AI) applications extend from the cloud to the edge, the surge in AI application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) is accelerating growth in the semiconductor testing market. Coupled with minimal impact from US-China tariff conflicts on upstream test interface suppliers, Taiwanese supply chains posted impressive revenue performances in May 2025, collectively reaching record highs for the period and laying a solid foundation for quarterly revenue growth throughout the year.

Taiwan-based Intelligo, an ASIC design firm focused on AI acoustics and voice recognition, expects substantial growth in 2025 driven by three core segments—gaming consoles, mobile-related businesses, and a new North American notebook client—according to chairman JJ Yan. The company projects strong year-over-year increases in both revenue and profit compared to 2024.