With the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic driving companies to diversify their production lines to different parts of the world to avoid risks after 2020, Malaysia has also become one of the targets for international first-tier IT companies to make investments in, but wafer manufacturing and semiconductor packaging and testing remain the key investment projects for the companies, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest study on Malaysia's semiconductor industry.
Taiwan-based printed circuit board (PCB) makers have expedited transferring manufacturing away from China, with several establishing new plants or extending current lines in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
The National Semiconductor Industry Investment Fund of China (commonly known as the Big Fund) has cut its shareholdings in some semiconductor firms, as it is adjusting its investment direction.
Taiwan-based power inductor maker Tai-Tech Advanced Electronics has disclosed plans to make an equity investment in solid electrolytic capacitor maker Apaq Technology.
With Sony attempting to secure additional sensor chip orders for Apple's iPhones, Taiwan-based epitaxial wafer manufacturers and other III-V IC suppliers are optimistic about demand from the Japan-based IDM, according to industry sources.
Taiwan-based ABF substrate suppliers are expected to see their sales hit bottom for 2023 in the first quarter, with sales recovering beginning in the second quarter, according to industry sources.
EMS provider Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), a subsidiary of ASE Technology (ASEH), expects to strengthen the company's automotive antenna manufacturing capability with its planned acquisition of a TE Connectivity unit.
Solder material maker Shenmao Technology will actively expand its presence in Southeast Asia, with plans to expand its factory in Vietnam, according to the Taiwan-based company.
Despite persistently weak demand for PCs, handsets, and consumer electronics devices, the automotive and industrial sectors continue to see robust momentum, with supplies of certain chips, such as car-use MCUs and MPUs, remaining tight, according to industry sources.
Japan-based Resonac, formerly Showa Denko, kicked off volume production of its new-generation 6-inch SiC epi-wafers on March 1, aiming to serve the needs of EVs and other high-end applications.
Niche-market compound semiconductor IDM Transcom has reported record-high revenue and net profits of NT$1.035 billion and NT$249 million, respectively, for 2022, buoyed by strong power amplifier (PA) shipments for defense and other high-end and niche-market device applications.
The application benefits are getting clear for third-generation compound semiconductor GaN (gallium nitride) as it is increasingly adopted for charging piles, in-vehicle DC-DC power conversion, and on-board chargers (OBC), with the prospect of penetrating motor inverters in the long term, according to industry insiders.
Ever-rising demand for electrical vehicles (EVs) is driving fast development of IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) module applications, prompting Chinese semiconductor players such as BYD Semiconductor and StarPower Semiconductor to strengthen deployments in diverse voltages of IGBT solutions to meet the huge EV market demand in China, according to industry sources.
Gallium nitride (GaN) has been rapidly adopted in mass-market small-voltage chargers and is now making inroads into automotive on-board chargers (OBC), according to Andy Chuang, VP of business development at GaN Systems.
The consumer electronics, PC communication, automotive, industrial control, and medical fields have been the pillars of the Chinese MCU application market. Recently, with the consumer electronics market entering a low period, the market has continued to be bullish on the potential of the automotive sector. This has resulted in Chinese MCU suppliers fighting to break into the mid-to-high-end sectors.
The industrial event 'Satellite 2023' has begun in Washington DC, USA, attracting over 350 companies from the aerospace supply chain, among them household names like NASA, SpaceX, OneWeb and Intelsat. As a crucial link in the global electronics industry, Taiwan has also set its sight upon the space industry. Satellite 2023 is consequently seeing numerous Taiwan-based participants, such as Universal Microwave Technology, Intai Technology Group, Pyras Technology and Tron Future Tech.
Taiwan-based Sino-American Silicon Products, a green energy total solution provider, has invested NT$530 million (US$17.3 million) in Billion Electric to become the largest shareholder of the network communication equipment and ICT solutions provider.
The passive component industry may see a significant rebound in the second and third quarters of this year, according to Yageo, which believes that the worst is over.
Taisic Materials, a Foxconn Technology affiliate that has newly developed Taiwan's first homegrown 8-inch SiC wafer, will create an SiC wafer platform to break through SiC growth bottlenecks in cooperation with other peers and extend its business reach into non-Foxconn camp, according to company chairman Frank Hsieh.
Power inductor maker Tai-Tech Advanced Electronics saw sales generated from the automotive segment rise as a proportion of company revenue to 25% in 2022 from 17% in 2021. The proportion is poised to top 30% this year, according to the company.
PCB and IC substrate maker Zhen Ding Technology (ZDT) has said that it expects overall sales for 2023 to be on par with those recorded in the previous year, while mulling building additional manufacturing sites outside China.
Taiwan-based Eternal Materials, dedicated to supplying resins, electronics materials including PCB-use dry film photoresists, and specialty materials, expects its sales to grow steadily in 2023 as it continues capacity expansions in China and Southeast Asia, according to company sources.
