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Friday 10 July 2026
Smartphone financing set to cover 42% of India sales in 2026

India's smartphone buyers are increasingly turning to financing, a shift that could shape device sales patterns in other price-sensitive markets as well. Higher handset prices and easier installment options are making monthly payments more attractive than one-time purchases, especially beyond major cities, according to Counterpoint Research.

Friday 10 July 2026
SK AI Summit postponed as SK eyes closer alignment with Nvidia GTC
SK Group, which hosts the annual SK AI Summit as its flagship technology event to showcase its latest AI and semiconductor developments, is reportedly postponing the 2026 edition. Originally scheduled for the second half of 2026, the event is now expected to take place in the first half of 2027. Industry sources believe the move is intended to better align the summit with Nvidia GTC, which is held each March.
Friday 10 July 2026
JCET sets US$1.4bn capex for AI packaging expansion as China orders stay strong
JCET plans to invest about CNY10 billion (approx. US$1.4 billion) in fixed assets in 2026, sharply increasing spending on AI-driven advanced packaging, automotive electronics and selected mainstream packaging capacity while its major Chinese plants run on strong orders.
Friday 10 July 2026
Luxshare's weak HK debut highlights investor skepticism over AI transition

Luxshare Precision's highly anticipated Hong Kong debut got off to a shaky start despite securing the city's largest IPO of 2026, underscoring investor skepticism over the Apple supplier's long-term transformation strategy.

Friday 10 July 2026
Analysis: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron's diverging approach to HBM4 base dies

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology are taking different manufacturing paths for the logic base die in HBM4, opening a new front in the competition over advanced memory performance, yield and supply.

Friday 10 July 2026
Huawei joins China Mobile, Baidu to build China's first NPO optical interconnect standard

Huawei has joined more than 20 Chinese technology companies and research bodies to launch OPEN NPO, the country's first multi-source agreement for near-packaged optics, in an effort to standardise high-speed optical interconnects for AI supernodes and large-scale computing clusters.

Friday 10 July 2026
GigaDevice's 1H26 profit surges 1,099% on memory chip shortage, higher prices

GigaDevice Semiconductor expects first-half 2026 net profit to reach about CNY6.9 billion (US$960 million), a 1,099% increase from a year earlier, after tight memory chip supply lifted both shipment volumes and prices.

Friday 10 July 2026
India scraps duties on electronics and battery components to boost local manufacturing

India has scrapped import duties on a targeted set of components and factory machinery used to build smartphones, displays, and lithium-ion cells, a move that deepens New Delhi's drive to pull more of the global electronics supply chain onto Indian soil and away from China and Vietnam.

Friday 10 July 2026
HBM prices set to double in 2027 as AI demand and supply deals tighten the memory market

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) prices could more than double in 2027 as Nvidia's Rubin platform drives demand, HBM4 raises production costs, and long-term agreements lock up an increasing share of global DRAM capacity, according to memory industry sources.

Friday 10 July 2026
India's clearance of the Dixon-Vivo venture marks a cautious opening for Chinese electronics money

India's decision to clear a smartphone-manufacturing joint venture between Dixon Technologies and Vivo Mobile India could reset how the country handles Chinese capital in its fast-growing electronics sector, signaling that Beijing-linked investment can pass New Delhi's tightened scrutiny when it is structured under local majority control.

Friday 10 July 2026
China's AI talent demand spreads into chips, rare earths, and new materials
China's graduate job market is shifting toward semiconductors, materials, and manufacturing, with global implications for supply chains, AI development, and critical minerals. Fresh salary data show computer science and software engineering losing ground as strategic industries draw more talent, while hard tech majors gain pay advantages across the country.
Friday 10 July 2026
Malaysia solar firms rush to secure stock before China tax breaks end
Malaysia's renewable energy market is expected to keep expanding in 2026 as data center construction and rising solar adoption support demand, while Chinese policy changes are already reshaping procurement plans. According to TNGlobal and Nanyang Siang Pau, local solar and storage firms are responding to higher costs and a looming end to key export tax rebates in China.
Friday 10 July 2026
BOE profit surges on LCD recovery and 8.6G OLED AI PC ramp

BOE Technology expects first-half 2026 net profit to rise sharply as China's largest display panel maker benefits from a stronger LCD cycle, higher-end AMOLED shipments, and the start of mass production at its 8.6-generation OLED line for medium-sized panels.

Friday 10 July 2026
China's silicon-to-agent AI stack headlines WAIC 2026 in Shanghai

When the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) opens on July 17, its exhibition halls will double as a statement: China now fields a domestic AI stack running from silicon to agentic devices, at a moment when US export controls are tightening around the country's access to the most advanced foreign chips and models.

Friday 10 July 2026
China's StepFun, ZTE's Nubia vie for 'world's first AI agent smartphone' at WAIC
Two Chinese technology players will use the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), running July 17-20 in Shanghai, to present what each bills as the world's first AI agent smartphone—a device whose on-device AI operates apps on the user's behalf rather than merely answering questions.