Driven by surging global demand for AI and high-performance computing (HPC), Taiwanese listed companies achieved record combined profits of NT$3.4 trillion (approx. US$106.5 billion) in the first half of 2026, while their investment returns from China also rebounded. According to market research provider CRIF, Taiwanese listed firms' cumulative investment income from China reached NT$289.95 billion in the first half of 2026, an 11.12% year-over-year increase and an all-time high.
The two largest silicon wafer companies are the sector's slowest growers on a cumulative basis. Everything running fast sits downstream of them.
Rising chip and copper prices are rapidly increasing cost pressure on LG Electronics.
Niche printed circuit board (PCB) maker EISO Enterprise said that 2026 industry demand has returned to post-pandemic highs as AI applications spread across multiple segments, while chairman Jian Rong-kun said the chance of a market reversal or an AI bubble burst remains low. But since 2025, shortages and price increases in high-frequency, high-speed copper-clad laminate (CCL) have remained a shared operational challenge for PCB makers.
Amid a global shortage of AI semiconductor equipment, Hanmi Semiconductor announced on August 18 that it will acquire a factory owned by Mercury in the Juan National Industrial Complex in Incheon, South Korea. The site, covering 221,683 square feet, will become Hanmi Semiconductor's eighth and largest production base.
Topco Scientific (TSC) said at its second-quarter 2026 earnings conference that rising upstream petrochemical costs are pushing up prices for semiconductor materials, including photoresists and thermal interface adhesives.
Niche printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer Eiso Enterprise has officially opened the second-phase expansion of its new plant in Guishan, Taiwan, which is expected to raise the company's overall monthly production capacity to 1.5 times the previous level.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) and LG Innotek pushed their semiconductor package substrate operations close to full capacity in the first half of 2026 as shipments of high-value substrates for AI accelerators, server CPUs, memory and data center networking climbed, company filings and earnings materials show.
Printed circuit board (PCB) drill bit manufacturer Topoint Technology stated during its second-quarter 2026 earnings call that strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers and high-performance computing (HPC) has significantly improved its product structure. High-end coated drill bit products accounted for 56% of product share in the first half of the year, already exceeding the company's original full-year target of 55%.
Connector maker Lotes is deepening its server business, with its server quick disconnect (QD) line set to enter mass production in July, and expansion is expected to accelerate at the same time. A new-generation server platform is expected to begin small-volume shipments in the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by a larger-scale ramp-up in early 2027, making both key growth drivers to watch in the coming quarters.
For years, the logic of AI infrastructure has been straightforward: move more data, push more power, transmit more signals, remove more heat.
Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, defense awareness is rising rapidly worldwide, with drone and counter-drone technologies becoming key areas of development for governments and defense industries. Taiwan is also continuing to upgrade technologies for radar detection, missile defense, and other military systems.
Strong Ajinomoto Build-Up Film (ABF) substrate demand has driven a surge in orders for vacuum laminating equipment, with Eternal Precision Mechanics, a unit of Eternal Materials, saying customer orders and inquiries jumped sharply around Christmas 2025 and have continued since. Its Japan plant has been running at full capacity since May this year.
