Shin-Etsu Chemical plans to build a new rare earth production facility in Fukui Prefecture, aiming to expand domestic smelting capacity and reduce Japan's reliance on China for materials critical to electric vehicle and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, according to Nikkei and Kyodo News.
Samsung Electronics is regaining ground in high-bandwidth memory and foundry services, but advanced packaging remains a weak point in its bid to capture a larger share of the AI chip supply chain, according to industry sources and Korean media reports.
A strike by South Korea's ready-mix concrete transport union is disrupting major semiconductor construction sites and raising concerns about wider industrial spillovers. If the stoppage continues, delays could spread beyond building projects and affect production schedules that matter to global technology supply chains and investors.
Silicon Labs is deepening its presence in India through expanded research operations and a greater commercial focus on smart infrastructure applications, even as the US-based wireless chipmaker prepares for an acquisition by Texas Instruments.
In power electronics engineering, Silicon Carbide (SiC) companies are competing to achieve the absolute lowest thermal resistance (Rth), with the mindset that lower heat signature equates a superior system. However, at PCIM Europe 2026, a collaborative project between Rohm Semiconductor, Schweizer Electronic, and eMoveUs GmbH exposed a revolutionary counter-intuitive shift in design philosophy: willingly accepting a localized thermal performance deficit to ultimately achieve dominant system-level advantages.
Sigurd announced that its May revenue reached a historic high, driven by overseas customer expansion, stronger demand for AI-related chips, and rising use of advanced packaging capacity. The result suggests continued momentum in global semiconductor supply chains, with implications for networking, memory, and high-performance computing markets worldwide.
MediaTek reported May 2026 revenue of NT$47.43 billion (approx. US$1.5 billion), up 1.49% from the previous month and 4.99% from a year earlier. Cumulative revenue for the first five months of 2026 totaled NT$243.32 billion, down 1.59% from the same period last year.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim concluded a three-day visit to Japan, during which he met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The two leaders pledged to strengthen cooperation in critical minerals.
Elon Musk's planned Terafab chipmaking project has taken an early equipment-sourcing step, with South Korean equipment maker HPSP reportedly receiving a purchase order for high-pressure hydrogen annealing equipment.
Amkor Technology Korea is considering investing about KRW1 trillion (approx. US$650 million) to expand its chip packaging and testing facilities in the South Korean city of Gwangju, according to Korean media reports and city officials. The company has not officially announced the plan.
