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Thursday 18 December 2025
The Nexperia fallout: Honda's factories go quiet in fresh blow to supply chain

Honda Motor Company announced on Wednesday that it would suspend or reduce production at several factories in Japan and China starting late this month, the latest sign that a global scramble for automotive semiconductors continues to haunt the industry's recovery

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Friday 19 December 2025
Commentary: Why China's GPU start-ups command billion-dollar valuations despite losses
China's GPU start-ups are back at the center of a capital-market frenzy. Following Moore Threads, five-year-old MetaX has listed on Shanghai's STAR Market, with its shares surging more than sevenfold on debut. At its peak, the company's market capitalization briefly hit CNY330 billion (US$46.9 billion)—a striking number for a business generating just CNY1.5–2 billion in annual revenue, and one that would raise eyebrows even by global semiconductor standards
Friday 19 December 2025
Chinese carmakers move beyond exports, taking their industrial ecosystems global
As competitive pressures in China's domestic auto market continue to intensify, Chinese carmakers are rapidly upgrading their overseas expansion strategies. What was once a straightforward export business—selling vehicles abroad—has evolved into what industry executives describe as "Go Global 2.0": a coordinated effort to export entire industrial systems and ecosystems, not just finished products
Friday 19 December 2025
Tata Group invests additional US$170M in Tata Electronics to expand iPhone production and semiconductor capacity
Tata Group has invested an additional INR15 billion (US$170 million) in Tata Electronics, the company that manufactures iPhones for Apple, bringing its total investment in the subsidiary to INR45 billion over the past year. The latest funding, made in October, reflects ongoing support for expanding production capacity as Tata Electronics strengthens its role in Apple's global supply chain
Friday 19 December 2025
Hotai Motor launches overseas expansion with US$317 million entry into Japan commercial vehicle market
Hotai Motor Co. plans to invest approximately NT$10 billion (US$317 million) in Japan's commercial vehicle market, marking its first international expansion. The company will acquire an 80% stake in five Hino Motors Ltd. subsidiaries, pending regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close in April 2026
Friday 19 December 2025
Memory shortage drives price hikes in China's PC and smartphone markets
China's 3C market has been reporting successive price hikes despite a sluggish macroeconomic environment and deflationary pressure. Xiaomi, followed by Honor, Lenovo, and Dell, have increased prices, demonstrating the impact of memory shortages on the 3C end market
Friday 19 December 2025
TikTok signs binding deal to create US joint venture controlled by American investors
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have signed binding agreements to create a new US-based joint venture that will be majority-owned and controlled by American investors, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in an internal memo to employees. The transaction, which is expected to close on January 22, 2026, is designed to secure the video-sharing platform's long-term operations in the US amid persistent national security scrutiny from Washington
Friday 19 December 2025
India's iVP Semi targets 30% of renewable energy chip market through guaranteed supply model
Chennai-based iVP Semiconductor is betting it can crack India's power semiconductor market by solving a problem that global chipmakers largely ignore: the poor service experience of Indian OEMs, who rank low in their priority queues
Friday 19 December 2025
India's semiconductor outbound investments surge, signaling strategic global ambitions
India's semiconductor sector has increasingly turned to cross-border acquisitions and investments, reflecting a broader push to accelerate technology capabilities and integrate into global supply chains. Notably, Cyient Semiconductors' recent agreement to acquire over 65% of US-based Kinetic Technologies for US$93 million is part of a larger trend of Indian firms targeting foreign semiconductor assets
Friday 19 December 2025
SK Hynix accelerates US$15B M15X expansion as equipment move-in kicks off
SK Hynix is accelerating the build-out of its M15X memory chip plant in Cheongju, South Korea, as the company installs manufacturing tools and moves into the final engineering phase for a second cleanroom, underscoring its push to scale production of high-bandwidth memory chips used in advanced servers and data centers
Friday 19 December 2025
Analysis: US leads AI in humanoid robots while China excels in cost and hardware
As humanoid robots emerge as a key technology riding the wave of AI, the US and China are rapidly forming two competing camps. Industry insiders analyzing their strengths say the US holds an edge mainly in software and foundational models, while China slightly outpaces the US in hardware innovation and iteration speed, with costs reportedly just one-fifth those of American products, making it difficult for other countries to catch up in the short term
Friday 19 December 2025
Alibaba moves AI from models to money
As global technology groups push beyond raw computing power into large-scale deployment, Alibaba Group is showing clear acceleration in AI application rollout across its core businesses
Friday 19 December 2025
South Korea's Uniqconn partners with TSMC to mass-produce 60GHz communication chip
A South Korean logic IC startup is moving closer to cable-free device design with the development of a 60GHz millimeter-wave communication chip designed to replace short-range wired connections in consumer and industrial electronics
Friday 19 December 2025
Walsin Lihwa launches cold-drawn stainless steel bars targeting AI servers and robotics
Cable and stainless steel maker Walsin Lihwa is expanding its business scope by entering high-value markets such as AI servers, automotive, robotics, consumer electronics, and energy with a new stainless steel product line. The company recently introduced the Steeval cold-drawn stainless steel bars designed for critical applications requiring precision and durability
Friday 19 December 2025
China approves first L3 autonomous EVs for production, signaling gradual regulatory easing

China's push to dominate the future of intelligent transport reached a milestone this week as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) granted its first approvals for the mass production of "Level 3" (L3) autonomous vehicles

Friday 19 December 2025
TCC urges strict import checks to protect low-carbon cement industry in Taiwan
Low-priced imported cement continues to undermine Taiwan's domestic low-carbon cement development, prompting TCC Group Holdings chairman Nelson An-ping Chang to propose two key recommendations ahead of the upcoming 2026 trial launch of Taiwan's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). He called for strict enforcement of a single material source rule in public projects and mandatory third-party international certification for imported cement, warning that without these measures, inspection mechanisms risk becoming ineffective