Silan Microelectronics has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Xiamen Municipal Government and Haicang District Government to build a 12-inch high-end analog integrated circuit manufacturing plant in Xiamen, Securities Times reported. The project marks a significant step in expanding Silan's integrated device manufacturer capabilities and strengthens its partnership with Xiamen, following a CNY12 billion (approx. US$1.68 billion) SiC power device fab launched last year.
Targeting the global continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) market, microcontroller IC design house Holtek has unveiled its latest CGM application integrated with edge AI computing to capture healthcare opportunities.
Tensions are escalating at Nexperia as a dispute between its Dutch headquarters and Chinese subsidiary intensifies. Chinese media reported that Nexperia's China branch claimed in a letter that the parent company had suspended local employees' work account access and stopped salary payments. In response, Nexperia China released an open letter on October 19, 2025, assuring staff that wages, bonuses, and benefits would continue to be paid directly by the Chinese subsidiary, not by the Dutch parent company.
Taiwan's top three lead frame manufacturers are implementing sweeping price increases for the first time in four years. The move comes as surging prices for gold, silver, and copper drive up production costs.
The US Department of Commerce has removed export restrictions on Arrow Electronics' China and Hong Kong units, taking the semiconductor distributor off the Entity List. Arrow Electronics spokesperson John Hourigan told Bloomberg and Reuters that the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) informed the company on October 17 of its delisting, with the official notice to be published shortly in the Federal Register.
Winbond chairman Arthur Chiao expressed a cautious outlook on the memory industry's current boom, stating that he does not believe this cycle represents a "super cycle." Speaking at Winbond's Zero-Carbon Family Day event held on October 18, 2025, at Nantou's National Chi Nan University, Chiao said the market will naturally rebalance within 2-3 years as suppliers ramp up capacity.
Memory giant Winbond aims to surpass the NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion) mark in 2026 for consolidated revenue. President Pei-Ming Chen said the memory market has emerged from a downturn, with optimistic performance seen since the third quarter of 2025 and even stronger operations anticipated in the fourth quarter. Chen highlighted dual growth drivers from DRAM and NOR Flash products, forecasting quarterly revenue increases without clear seasonal fluctuations.
In a massive strategic bet on the next wave of tech demand, South Korea's leading semiconductor testing provider, Doosan Tesna, is pouring over KRW170 billion (approx. US$120 million) into new testing equipment. Industry observers believe this huge capex plan is a direct move to prepare for a sharp surge in orders from its primary customer, Samsung Electronics, which is set to ramp up production of CMOS image sensors (CIS) for Apple.
Below are the top DIGITIMES Asia stories from October 13 to 19, 2025.
South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has launched a Rare Earth Supply Chain Task Force to shield domestic industries from China's tightened export controls.
According to ZDNet Korea, Samsung Electronics' foundry division has secured an order from Hyundai Motor and will manufacture millions of 8nm automotive chips. Hyundai is actively preparing for production, with chip development expected to be completed by 2028 and mass production targeted for 2030.**
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