Chinese chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor is pressing ahead with plans to list its shares in Hong Kong, seeking to raise as much as HK$4.68 billion (approx. US$601.4 million) in what would be one of the latest semiconductor offerings amid a renewed IPO push by Chinese technology firms.
According to South Korean media reports and industry sources, TSMC is moving to pull forward the production schedule at its second Arizona facility, a shift that could reshape supply planning for major chip designers and weaken the long-running narrative that Samsung Electronics stands as the default alternative when TSMC capacity tightens.
Taiwan's leading semiconductor assembly and test providers are launching record capital spending programs to expand advanced packaging capacity, as shortages at TSMC push chip designers to seek alternative supply chains through 2026.
China is requiring semiconductor manufacturers to source at least 50% of their equipment from domestic suppliers when adding new production capacity, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
When the Manhattan Project mobilized the full weight of the American state in 1945 to unlock atomic energy, it revealed something humanity had not fully grasped before: once a scientific breakthrough is absorbed into national strategy, its impact can far exceed any single industry or technology. Eighty years later, the US is attempting to recreate that logic—this time around artificial intelligence (AI).
The US has reportedly adjusted export control procedures for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix operations in China, easing near term operational risks at their semiconductor plants by replacing case-by-case equipment approvals with an annual authorization process, according to industry sources cited by South Korean media.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake off Taiwan's eastern coast late on December 27 disrupted parts of the island's semiconductor supply chain, after several wafer fabs reported damage to quartz furnace tubes critical to diffusion processes, according to industry sources. While no structural damage to factories was reported, the incident has sharpened market attention on recovery timelines at major chipmakers, including TSMC, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), and Nanya Technology.
