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Monday 9 March 2026
China warns Nexperia dispute could trigger new global chip shortage
China's commerce ministry has warned that the conflict between Dutch chipmaker Nexperia and its Chinese subsidiary could trigger another global semiconductor supply chain crisis, raising fresh concerns over potential disruptions to automotive chip supplies
Monday 9 March 2026
China's new Five-Year Plan pairs tech push with consumption pivot
China's draft 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026–2030 signals that Beijing is seeking to rebalance its economic model while keeping technological development at the center of national strategy
Monday 9 March 2026
Mitsui partners with Kaynes and AOI Electronics to support Indian OSAT business
Mitsui has concluded a strategic business partnership agreement with Kaynes Semicon Private Limited, an OSAT (semiconductor back-end process) company in India, and AOI Electronics, the largest Japanese OSAT company. The agreement aims to support the start-up and operation of Kaynes' OSAT business and to facilitate sales of products manufactured by Kaynes
Monday 9 March 2026
South Korea's IC design moves to bridge demand and local foundries
Despite holding a dominant position in the memory chip industry, South Korea's system semiconductor ecosystem remains underdeveloped, with the country's IC design market share at only about 2%. Kyung-ho Kim, the newly appointed chairman of the Korea Fabless Industry Association (KFIA), has outlined plans to build a design ecosystem closely tied to actual market demand and to strengthen collaboration with domestic foundries
Monday 9 March 2026
Tungsten prices surge nearly 6x amid China export controls and geopolitical tensions with Japan
Geopolitical strains between China and Japan have intensified following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on "Taiwan contingencies," impacting Japanese firms' access to high-purity tungsten powder. Although companies maintain inventories, urgent material needs from advanced semiconductor process gases and PCB drill bits face price pressure, prompting some major PCB drill manufacturers to consider price hikes
Monday 9 March 2026
Industry mulls thicker HBM standards for 20-layer stacks
Global semiconductor companies are discussing relaxing thickness standards for next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) as the industry moves toward higher stack counts in future designs, according to ZDNet Korea
Monday 9 March 2026
Nvidia halts China-bound H200 production, shifts TSMC capacity to Vera Rubin

Nvidia has halted production of artificial intelligence (AI) chips intended for the Chinese market and redirected manufacturing capacity at TSMC to its next-generation Vera Rubin platform, as regulatory barriers in both the US and China continue to cloud prospects for sales to Chinese customers, the Financial Times reported

Monday 9 March 2026
India roundup: Japan, South Korea deepen push as semiconductor and tech investments expand
Japanese and South Korean firms are expanding their presence in India as the country strengthens its semiconductor and technology ecosystem. Rohm has partnered with Suchi Semicon for back-end manufacturing, while Hanmi Semiconductor and OLED materials firm Lordin are advancing India plans alongside Micron's new facility
Monday 9 March 2026
Exclusive interview: India's NKRF seeks global role in RF component supply chain

After 15 years of dominating the Indian domestic defense and aerospace landscape, N.K. RF Products & Services (NKRF) is officially pivoting toward the global stage. Making its international exhibition debut at Space-Comm, the company is pitching its "Made in India, For the World" philosophy to global OEMs and satellite startups

Sunday 8 March 2026
Defense chips, satellite systems now "100% localized," Chinese academics say

As conflict in the Middle East intensifies and geopolitical risks rise, governments worldwide are paying closer attention to the resilience of defense supply chains and semiconductor self-sufficiency. Against this backdrop, and as China convenes its annual "Two Sessions," an article jointly authored by several Chinese academicians and published in the state-backed journal Science & Technology Review has drawn attention

Saturday 7 March 2026
Qwen shake-up sparks AI talent war with Z.ai and DeepMind
According to TechWeb, on March 5, 2026, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu formally approved Alibaba's core Qwen team member Jun-Yang Lin's resignation in an internal letter to Tongyi Lab, announcing the creation of a "foundation model support group" to coordinate resources and strengthen future LLM development
Friday 6 March 2026
Toyota Group's Denso bids up to US$8 billion to acquire Rohm

Japanese auto parts supplier Denso has made a takeover proposal for Kyoto-based chipmaker Rohm in a deal that could reach about JPY1.3 trillion (approx. US$8.3 billion), according to reports from Nikkei and Reuters

Friday 6 March 2026
Europe's automakers brace for energy and logistics shocks from Middle East tensions

Rising tensions in the Middle East are adding a new layer of uncertainty for the global automotive industry, raising the risk that geopolitical disruptions could once again ripple through production costs, energy supply and logistics networks

Friday 6 March 2026
Alibaba faces questions over Qwen continuity after sudden departures and structural shift
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s core team behind its Qwen large language model faced renewed turbulence after the abrupt resignation of its original technical lead prompted an emergency all-hands meeting on March 4. CEO Eddie Wu addressed the Qwen team in person as management sought to steady internal concerns
Friday 6 March 2026
South Korean Academia: NAND scaling nears ceiling; China seen closing gap
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is driving strong growth in the memory market. Compared with DRAM, which still has room for structural innovation, NAND flash has largely relied on vertical stacking for years and is now approaching the limits of its current architecture, according to South Korean academics. As a result, the segment faces increasing risk of being caught up by Chinese manufacturers