World Region – Asia

As of December 2020, Taiwan held the largest share of IC industry capacity of any country or region in the world, says IC Insights. Combined with China’s IC capacity, the share of IC capacity within the borders of China and Taiwan would represent about 37% of global IC capacity, about 3x the amount of IC capacity located in North America. ...

The in-person events TAITRONICS 2021 and AIoT Taiwan 2021 have been pushed back from October to 21-23 December, the organisers have announced. The change is due to concerns about COVID-19 infections in Taiwan. TAITRA – the Taiwan External Trade Development Council – are the organisers of the Taipei International Electronics Show, which encompasses these events. They say they have taken ...

Earlier today, the Korean government announced a $450 billion semiconductor industry support package 2021-30.  Samsung also today announced a $150 billion investment programme for its non-memory IC business. “Our government will unite with companies to form a semiconductor powerhouse,” said Korea’s President Moon Jae-in. “We will support companies concretely.” Part of the government package is tax concessions such as raising ...

SMIC, the Shanghai foundry, and the Chinese municipality of Shenzhen are to invest $2.35 billion to build a 28nm fab in Shenzhen. 28nm was first used in the industry  in 2011. SMIC will take a 55% stake and the city will take 23%. The remaining 22% appears to be up for grabs. “The company and Shenzhen government will jointly drive ...

China-headquartered companies produced $8.3 billion worth of ICs accounting for 5.9% of the country’s total $143 billion IC market last year, says IC Insights. Under the ‘Made in China’ programme, China has a goal to be supplying 70% of its domestic market by 2025. Sales of logic ICs accounted for the largest share of China’s IC Market in 2020 with ...

Lunar samples successfully collected by China’s Chang’e 5 robotic probe have completed their journey to Earth, according to Chinese media. The rocks and dust from the moon had been previously been delivered from Chang’e 5’s ascender to its reentry capsule. It represents the first mission since 1976 – the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission – to bring lunar samples down ...

It is being reported that SMIC, the China foundry, is about to be banned from buying US equipment because it supplies the Chinese military. SMIC denies it makes chips for the military. SMIC is already under a restricted import order from the US with all orders requiring US government clearance. SMIC has a capex budget of $4.2 billion for 2020 as ...

The ‘largest IPO in human history’ – Ant Group’s $37bn public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong – has been suspended by Chinese regulators. Ant founder Jack Ma (pictured) recently gave a speech criticising the banking industry’s regulators and he was called in by them on Monday to provide explanations. In the past, Ma has said the Ant business model ...

Washington has clamped down on SMIC – ruling that machinery orders by the Chinese foundry have to get individual clearance from the US Department of Commerce. SMIC shares fell 7% on the news. SMIC has a capex budget of $4.2 billion for 2020 as it tries to upgrade its process technology beyond 14nm, but without US-controlled equipment it won’t be able ...

China’s 14th five-year plan (2021-2025) will include a 40% expansion in foundry capacity and a move to 7nm processing, says Digitimes Research. China’s IC manufacturing industry is planned to double to $34.28 billion in 2020 from 2016, and may also move 12nm to production by the end of the year after having volume produced 14nm process. But China’s IC self-sufficiency ...