For Chinese fabless IC vendors, tight foundry supply has been compounded by the fact that China-based SMIC has been blacklisted by the US. More Chinese IC vendors are now seeking support from Samsung for 14nm and above manufacturing processes. BT substrate supply has also become tight after a recent fire disrupted production at a major suppier, Unimicron. For ASE Technology, underlying the the recent supply-demand imbalance in the semiconductor sector are structural changes, apart from pandemic-driven needs.
Samsung sees 14nm chip orders from China surge: Samsung Electronics has seen orders demanding 14nm and above processes ramp up from its China-based fabless clients recently, according to industry sources.
Concerns rising over tight BT substrate supply for handset SoCs: Handset application processor vendors have expressed concerns about the supply of BT substrates that may fall due to the suspension of production at Unimicron Technology's fire-hit plant in northern Taiwan, and are moving to vie for more capacity support from other suppliers for 2021, according to industry sources.
Pandemic-triggered structural changes: Q&A with ASE Technology COO Tien Wu: ASE Technology has turned optimistic about the IC backend industry prospects for the first half of 2021 with high capacity utilization to linger in diverse processes despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to company COO Tien Wu.