Electricity costs for South Korea's domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry have reportedly surged, raising concerns over mounting cost pressures on chipmakers. Over the past four years, electricity consumption has risen by only about 9%, yet total electricity bills have more than doubled.
The Chinese subsidiary of Nexperia, the Dutch semiconductor manufacturer, has moved to secure wafer capacity from domestic suppliers to support production of key products in 2026, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. The shift underscores a widening rupture between the China operation and its European parent, as disputes over corporate governance and control continue to reshape the company's global supply chain.
Optical and electrical inspection equipment supplier Test Research Inc. (TRI) held an online investor conference on December 16, 2025, stating that, benefiting from continued strong demand for networking servers, semiconductors, and automotive electronics, its 2025 revenue is confirmed to hit a record high. The company expects 2026 order momentum to remain strong, significantly reducing the impact of traditional seasonality, with full-year operations expected to continue setting new highs. Gross margin is projected to remain firmly in the 55–60% range.
Samsung has recruited semiconductor veteran John Rayfield, formerly a vice president at AMD, to bolster its Exynos GPU and system IP roadmap, signaling a renewed effort to regain competitiveness in mobile and AI-focused SoC design.
Taiwan's Central Bank has sharply revised its economic growth forecast for 2025 to 7.31% from the 4.55% projected in September, citing the absence of US semiconductor tariffs under Section 232 and a stronger-than-expected surge in AI demand driving export momentum.
Pan Jit International Inc. signed a definitive agreement on December 18, 2025, to acquire a 95% stake in Torex Vietnam Semiconductor, a move aimed at expanding the Taiwanese firm's manufacturing footprint and scaling its automotive-grade chip production. The transaction follows an initial memorandum of understanding signed in February 2025 and initiates the formal equity transfer process between the companies.
India's tightening AI governance rules are no longer just shaping compliance strategies. They are beginning to influence where artificial intelligence workloads are deployed, pushing sensitive applications toward India-hosted and on-premise infrastructure.
Etron Technology founder Nicky Lu says the boom in AI is accelerating semiconductor innovation and restoring the momentum of Moore's Law, even as a global memory shortage threatens to persist through the first half of 2027. Speaking in Taipei as the industry closes a record-breaking year, Lu noted that the demand for high bandwidth and customized memory architectures is forcing a structural shift in how chips are designed and manufactured.
King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) is accelerating its expansion efforts in Taiwan and Singapore to address rising demand for AI chip testing services. The Taiwanese testing and assembly firm plans to establish its first overseas manufacturing base in Singapore, aiming to commence mass production by 2027, according to KYEC chairman C.K. Lee.
These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of December 15 to December 21, 2025.
AOI Electronics, a Japan-based semiconductor assembly and test provider, has entered into a business alliance with India's Kaynes Semicon Private Limited and Japan's Mitsui to support the establishment of a semiconductor back-end processing business in India.
More coverage
