These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of April 22 - April 26.
China has become an insatiable market for lithography equipment
ASML's future operation can be said to be closely connected with China. The world's largest lithography maker said Chinese customers account for 20% of their recent orders and contribute to almost half of the company's revenue. Shandon is a major semiconductor equipment importer in addition to primary wafer customers in Beijing and Shanghai. In the first quarter of 2024, ASML's deliveries to Taiwan and South Korea, the company's previous main markets, declined to only 6% and 19%, respectively.
Falling EUV equipment orders suggest China and Intel drive ASML's performance
ASML is used to the tens of billions of euros in backlog orders. The company sees limited output growth. In addition, as long as new wafer fabs are built, equipment purchases will eventually be made with ASML. China-based semiconductor companies are growing their fab production capacity under the US-China technology tension. They continue to place ASML orders and have gradually stockpiled them while having limited access to the equipment due to US export restrictions.
China feeds on lucrative semiconductor business created by US
China has been fostering a local semiconductor supply chain to reduce dependence on the US and its allies. It also has become a critical supplier for other sanctioned countries. According to a report from Christ Miller and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), China provided close to 90% of the chips Russia imported in the first half of 2023. Most of the chips were from the West. The insidious transaction to evade US sanctions has increased costs by around 80% compared to pre-Ukraine War levels in 2019 and 2021, according to the report.
Intel expanding partnerships with 2nd-tier foundries
Sources at fab toolmakers said Intel has tied up with UMC, Tower Semiconductor, and other second-tier foundries to cut costs and optimize production utilization. The alliance may also enhance the competitiveness of Intel's foundry business, which will unlikely challenge TSMC in the foreseeable future. Sources said Intel may also try to partner with GlobalFoundries in the next two years. Intel has disclosed a US$7 billion loss in its manufacturing business in 2023.
Huawei's 7nm chip capability and HBM development reflect China's advanced processes ambition
A teardown of Huawei's newly launched Pura 70 series smartphones showed the adoption of the Huawei Kirin 9010 chip, according to market research firm TechInsights. The chip is believed to be manufactured using SMIC's 7nm N+2 process, an enhanced version of the 7nm process. The revelation highlights Huawei's capability to design advanced chips. In addition, The Information reported that Huawei has led a group of Chinese chip companies to develop China's domestic production capacity of High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM). The government-backed group aims to begin HBM production by 2026.
HBM prices likely to fall in 2H24 due to intensified market competition
The recent slump in Nvidia's stock price and market capitalization has concerned the South Korean semiconductor industry. The industry suspected that the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) market would be impacted if the Nvidia-dominated AI semiconductor market shrinks. Major manufacturers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will also take a hit. According to South Korean media reports, industry players speculated that the HBM market will likely see price adjustments in the second half of 2024.
New BYD NEV to adopt Horizon Robotics chip
China-based Horizon Robotics released the Journey 6 series, its next-generation automotive processor. The Journey 6 series achieves a highly integrated four-core-in-one design that can package CPUs, GPUs, Brain Processing Units (BPU), and Microcontroller Units (MCU) on the same substrate. A single chip supports full-stack computing for smart driving, improving cost performance. Although the chips' manufacturing process remains unknown, they will power BYD's upcoming New Energy Vehicles (NEV).
