Weekly News 025

Contents

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1. ?Rapid growth in the semiconductor market in Malaysia and Singapore.

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2. ?Foxconn to start advanced semiconductor packaging production in 2026.

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3. ?South Korea's semiconductor exports up 85.7% in early July.?

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4. ?MLCC prices rise, driven by AI servers and laptops.?

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5.?IC giants compete in the glass substrate market.

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1. Rapid growth in the semiconductor market in Malaysia and Singapore.

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Southeast Asian countries are rapidly rising in the semiconductor industry, thanks to government support and strategic planning.

Malaysia: The "National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS)" has attracted over $106.2 billion in investments and provided $5.3 billion in subsidies to boost chip design and manufacturing. In the first half of 2022, Malaysia approved 25 related projects with a total investment of around $2 billion, and in 2023, foreign direct investment reached $12.8 billion. Currently, at least 50 multinational semiconductor companies have established manufacturing bases or businesses in Malaysia.

Singapore: A traditional stronghold in the semiconductor industry, Singapore is home to over 300 semiconductor companies. By 2027, the market size is expected to reach $56.91 billion, growing at a rate of 7.85%. In 2023, GlobalFoundries opened a $4 billion expanded wafer plant, and Siltronic invested €2 billion in a new wafer factory.

Vietnam: Vietnam's electronics exports jumped from 47th place globally in 2001 to 10th in 2020, with mobile phone exports ranking second worldwide. In 2023, Samsung Electronics invested an additional $920 million in its Thai Nguyen electronics component factory. However, Vietnam still faces challenges in infrastructure, technical talent, and industry chain layout despite the growth.

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Comment:?The rise of Southeast Asia's semiconductor industry signals new opportunities for technological advancement, economic growth, and international cooperation. However, it also highlights potential challenges in infrastructure, talent supply, and industry chain development.?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

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?Foxconn to start advanced semiconductor packaging production in 2026.

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Foxconn has entered the advanced packaging field, focusing on the current mainstream panel-level fan-out packaging (FOPLP) semiconductor solutions.

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Following its subsidiary Innolux, Foxconn's investment in Sharp has also announced entry into the Japanese panel-level fan-out packaging sector, with production expected to begin in 2026. With its substantial influence in the AI field, Foxconn's foray into advanced packaging allows it to offer comprehensive services, facilitating the receipt of more AI product orders.

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Public information indicates that Foxconn currently holds a 10.5% stake in Sharp and does not plan to increase or decrease this holding, maintaining the current investment relationship.

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Sharp announced a partnership with Japanese electronic component manufacturer Aoi Electronics to enter the advanced packaging field. Aoi will renovate existing Sharp factories and facilities to build semiconductor packaging production lines.

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Aoi plans to establish an advanced semiconductor panel packaging production line at the Sharp factory within 2024, with full-scale production targeted for 2026 and a monthly capacity of 20,000 wafers.

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Comment:With the rapid development of AI technology, the demand for high-performance semiconductors is increasing. Foxconn's strategic move may be a positive response to this market demand. The collaboration model between Foxconn, Sharp, and Aoi Electronics could provide new insights for the industry, especially in cross-sector cooperation and resource sharing.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

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?South Korea's semiconductor exports up 85.7% in early July.?

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According to data from the Korea Customs Service, from July 1st to 10th, 2024, South Korea's total exports amounted to $17.75 billion, marking a 33.8% increase compared to the same period last year.

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By product category, semiconductor exports surged by 85.7%. Since November 2023, monthly semiconductor exports have consistently shown double-digit growth. Additionally, exports of passenger cars, petroleum products, and steel increased by 9.8%, 40.5%, and 24.2% respectively. However, exports of ships and computer peripherals decreased by 37.5% and 14.1%.

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In terms of export destinations, exports to China increased by 29.1%, to the United States by 26.4%, and to the European Union by 26.2%. The export value to China reached $3.55 billion, exceeding the $3.22 billion exported to the United States.

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Comment:The sustained double-digit growth since November 2023 likely indicates a cyclical recovery in the semiconductor industry, which is a positive signal for both upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain. The strong demand for semiconductors, reflected in the significant export growth, suggests that global markets continue to have robust demand for semiconductors, particularly in technology products and the automotive industry.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

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MLCC prices rise, driven by AI servers and laptops.?

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According to research firm TrendForce, AI server orders have shown robust growth in the first half of this year. It is anticipated that in the second half of the year, shipments of NVIDIA's new generation Blackwell architecture GB200 servers and the launch of Windows on Arm (WoA) laptops will drive up the shipment volume of high-capacitance MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors), further boosting the MLCC average selling price (ASP).

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The research firm points out that AI servers have stringent quality requirements, and with current WoA laptop brands mainly relying on Qualcomm's reference designs, up to 80% of MLCC demand is for high-capacitance variants. Therefore, Japanese and South Korean MLCC suppliers that dominate high-capacitance product lines are expected to benefit significantly.

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On the other hand, due to the high usage of high-capacitance MLCCs in GB200 servers—where standard MLCC usage is twice as much as in general servers, with 60% of usage being 1μF and above, and high-temperature resistant products like X6S/X7S/X7R comprising up to 85%—the total MLCC cost for server system motherboards is also expected to double.

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As demand accelerates for high-capacitance products, Japanese manufacturer Murata has extended lead times from 8 to 12 weeks to accommodate orders placed before production.

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Comment:?Artificial Intelligence (AI) servers and Windows on Arm (WoA) laptops are expected to drive significant growth in demand for high-capacitance Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCCs), leading to an increase in MLCC shipment volumes and average selling prices (ASP). The AI servers' stringent quality requirements, coupled with WoA laptops' reliance on Qualcomm's reference designs, result in up to 80% of the demand being for high-capacitance MLCCs.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ???

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?IC giants compete in the Glass Core substrates?market.

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Research firm Yole Group's analysis indicates that with Intel's announcement in September 2023 regarding the introduction of Glass Core Substrates (GCS), the advanced packaging industry has entered a pivotal moment of innovation competition. This new technological direction follows the trends of organic and ceramic substrates and is poised to overcome the challenges posed by organic core substrates. It aims to enhance performance, efficiency, and scalability in chip design and manufacturing costs, aligning with the trends of High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The success of this innovation hinges on the maturity of the technology and its widespread adoption in end markets.

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Comment:Once the technology matures and achieves widespread adoption, glass's potential cost advantages will make it an extremely attractive choice for the High-Performance Computing (HPC) and data center?markets.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

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