IC Quotes

• ​​ The MCU market remains in a state of stagnation, with limited consumer support observed during the 618 period. Manufacturers are currently engaged in inventory clearance, but the devaluation process may be postponed until the fourth quarter or even the first quarter of the following year. (Source: MoneyDJ, June 13th)
• The overall situation in the mobile phone supply chain has continued to be bleak since the beginning of 2023, leading to a persistently weak demand for chips. (Source: Electronic Times, Taiwan Media, June 14th)
• In the DRAM spot market, sporadic price increases have been observed for low-priced DDR4 products in recent times. On the other hand, due to a surplus in chip supply, the price of DDR5 products continues to decline. Unlike the contract market, the spot market is relatively unaffected by discussions about price increases, resulting in overall tepid spot trading. (Source: TrendForce, June 14th)
• Guoju, a passive component manufacturer, recently stated that the passive component industry is still in a slump and estimated that it would take two quarters to recover. (Source: MoneyDJ, June 14th)

IC Design

• Foundries are experiencing cautious order placements from IC design companies due to weak demand in end-user markets. (Source: Electronic Times, Taiwan Media, June 13th)
• Samsung Electronics has announced its plans to enhance its semiconductor design capabilities through collaborations with EDA manufacturers such as Synopsis Technology, Cadence, and AlphaWave Semi. (Source: Korean Economic News, June 14th)

IC Market​​

• According to industry insiders, several IC distributors in Taiwan are still undergoing inventory adjustments, which are anticipated to last longer than initially expected. (Source: DIGITIMES Asia, June 14th)

• NH Investment & Securities division reported that replenishment orders for SK Hynix’s customers have commenced, indicating a downward trend in memory manufacturers’ inventories. As a result, industry conditions are projected to see significant improvements starting from the third quarter of 2023. (Source: Businesskorea, June 13th)
• South Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) exports in May recorded a year-on-year decline of 28.5%, totaling $14.45 billion, marking the 11th consecutive monthly decline since July of the previous year. Specifically, exports of semiconductor and memory chips experienced a substantial year-on-year decrease of 53.1%, amounting to $3.41 billion. (Source: Ministry of Science and Technology Information and Communication of Korea, June 14th)

Equipment / Materials

• Tokyo Electronics has successfully developed a new etching technology capable of creating channel holes in over 400 stacked 3D NAND structures. (Source: Science and Technology Board Daily, June 12th)

• According to Counterpoint Research, net revenues for fabs (WFE) reached $120 billion in 2022, marking a 9% year-on-year increase and setting a new record. However, it is projected that net income will decline by 10% to $108.45 billion in 2023 compared to the previous year. (Source: Counterpoint Research, June 13th)
• The global semiconductor materials market experienced robust growth in 2022, expanding by 8.9% to reach $72.7 billion. This surpasses the previous market high of $66.8 billion set in 2021. (Source: SEMI, June 13th)

Wafer foundry

1. According to TrendForce, the revenue of the world’s top 10 foundries experienced a decline of 18.6% to approximately $27.3 billion in the first quarter. This decline can be attributed to continued weakness in end-user demand and the impact of the “off-season effect.” (Source: TrendForce, June 12th)

1. Due to increased input of AI chips by Invida, TCLC’s advanced process capacity utilization rate has significantly improved. The utilization rate of 5nm technology has increased from over 50% to approximately 70% to 80%, while the utilization rate of 7nm has risen from an initial low of only 30% or 40% to gradually reach around 50%. (Source: Taiwan Media Economic Daily, June 12th)
2. The Chairman’s Strategy of World Advanced stated that a modest recovery is expected in the second half of the year, although there may be more uncertainties compared to a few months ago. (Source: Taiwan Media Economic Daily, June 13th)
3. According to industry insiders, Sony’s CMOS sensor rear section is facing capacity constraints, leading to an increase in orders for color filter films from TSMC’s Caiyu Technology. (Source: Kui Heng net, June 12th)
4. TSMC is considering Kumamoto in southwestern Japan as a potential location for establishing a second factory. However, the difficulty in acquiring local land has become an obstacle to the Japanese government’s efforts to develop a chip hub. Suppliers are also preparing to move to the area. (Source: Science and Technology Board Daily, June 15th)

Sealing / Manufacturing

• ​​A semiconductor packaging and testing plant expansion project, located in Dongguan City, Huang Jiang Town, has been successfully delisted. The project had a total investment of 3 billion yuan. (Source: Science and Technology Board Daily, June 12th)
• Taiwan’s SoIC packaging business is thriving, and it has outsourced some of the CoWos and InFO packaging processes to semiconductor packaging and testing foundry (OSAT) manufacturers. (Source: Electronic Times, Taiwan Media, June 13th)
• Texas Instruments has announced plans for expansion by opening two new assembly and test plants in Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, with a potential investment of around 22.6 billion yuan. (Source: Texas Instruments, June 14th)
• Delta Electric has announced its subsidiary, Delta International Holding Limited B.V., will acquire TB & C, a German automotive high-pressure hybrid components company, for 142 million euros. (Source: Not specified, June 16th)
• According to Yole, the advanced packaging market is projected to have a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% and reach a market value of $78.6 billion from 2022 to 2028. (Source: Yole, June 15th)
• After months of negotiations, the German government is nearing an increase in subsidies for Intel’s chip factory in Magdeburg. Final negotiations between company representatives and the federal government are expected to take place over the weekend. Intel is anticipated to receive 9.9 billion euros, up from the previously agreed 6.8 billion euros. (Source: Handelsblatt, June 16th)

Application areas

• ​​Huawei has recently revised its shipment target for 2023 to 40 million units, up from the initial target of 30 million units set at the beginning of the year. (Source: China Securities Journal, June 12th)
• Hon Hai’s AI server-related business is experiencing strong demand, leading Hongbai Technology, responsible for the AI server business, to plan the addition of five to six production lines. (Source: Daily News, June 12th)
• Samsung has lowered its forecast for smartphone shipments in 2023 to 250 million units, which is below its previous target of 270 million units. (Source: sisajournal-e, June 12th)
• Dan Ives, a renowned analyst in the Apple production chain, predicts that the new iPhone 15 series may see a price increase of $100-200, with the 1TB version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max potentially costing as much as $1,800. If this pricing holds, it would make it the most expensive iPhone in history. (Source: Barron’s, June 13th)