As TSMC expands its fabs internationally, others in Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain are also working together to extend their presence to other countries, seeking to support the number-one pure-play foundry house's overseas projects and international customers.

TSMC's goal towards comprehensive digital management for its facilities (fac) and fabs is gathering pace, helping the company better address challenges in overseas expansions, according to S.D. Yang, manager of the pure-play foundry house's FAC Digital Department.

The notebook supply chain pointed out that the momentum of US brands shifting production to Vietnam has not met the initial expectations. The lack of orders has left supply chain members anxious, which moved production in response to customer demands. Recently, high-ranking executives of notebook brands have visited Taiwan to meet with ODMs to provide some reassurance.

Vietnam's VinFast is set to establish its first production facility, including an electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing plant, in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India, Reuters and TechCrunch reported.

Malaysia is the sixth-largest exporter of semiconductors worldwide and is starting to emerge in the global semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. Despite that, there are often negative comments locally about the shortage of technical talents. Regarding this issue, Liew Chin Tong, deputy head of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), recently stated that the issue lies in wages rather than talent.

Marking the beginning of 2024, DIGITIMES Asia compiled the list of the top 100 semiconductor companies based on their market values in dollar terms at the end of 2023. The median growth rate in market value among the top 100 companies in 2023 was 35.94%, with the average growth at 49.65%. Semiconductor equipment was the growth driver that saw its median and mean market capitalizations increase by 60.97% and 82.14% during the period.

As ASEAN's largest car manufacturing country, Thailand has been transitioning to EVs to comply with national policies. Many companies that intend to enter the EV sector plan to invest significantly in Thailand because the country hosts a comprehensive automotive supply chain and continues to see demand grow.

With the rapid development of generative AI and large language model (LLM) applications, the data center AI chip market size will also leap upward in 2023. While competitors AMD and Intel are set to get a piece of that pie, Nvidia, a dominant leader in the data center AI chip market, seems more interested in making new pies.

As regulators in the semiconductor supply chain, IC distributors have observed the upstream and downstream outlooks for 2024. They pointed out that there are uncertainties in the degree of recovery in the global market economy. Despite that, with inflation easing and the end of interest rate hikes, market demand is expected to increase each quarter. In particular, business opportunities in the automotive market, such as charging stations and EVs, are anticipated to be long-term. The share of automotive electronics will increase year by year.

Package+, a Taiwanese startup pioneering circular economy solutions for packaging, is aiming to bring its model across Southeast Asia after gaining momentum in its home market.

The Thai government announced that major Japan-based automakers plan to invest THB150 billion (US$4.34 billion) in Thailand over the next five years, which is expected to facilitate the EV scale-up in Thailand and electrify one-third of its car sales by 2030.

According to DIGITIMES Research's observation, there are generally two main reasons for PCB firms to relocate to Thailand: de-risking and opportunities for automotive electronics. With extra support from the Thai government in the form of incentives, Thailand has become a favorite destination for PCB manufacturers and upstream industries, and a PCB industry ecosystem is being formed there, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest report covering Thailand's PCB industry.

In an insightful interview with DIGITIMES Asia, Julian Prower, Chief Operating Officer of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) International on December 8, explored the profound implications of D&B's cutting-edge AI data analysis, unveiling a forecast that suggests an escalating probability of a supply chain disruption in the near future.

The migration of smartphone supply chains is making a dent in China's production outputs, according to Chinese media Yicai. The number of smartphones manufactured in China decreased by 521 million units in 7 years, as supply chains have relocated to India and Southeast Asia due to the US-China trade war.

Over the past two years, due to the pandemic's impact on supply chains and instability factors like the Russia-Ukraine war and US-China tensions, chipmakers have taken actions to mitigate risks and alleviate shortages. Several foreign companies, including major Chinese packaging and testing providers, have favored Malaysia as a viable destination for their production shifts.