Both SMIC and HiSilicon play major roles in China's campaign to raise the country's IC self-sufficiency though TMSC has been the major foundry partner for Huawei's chipmaking arm. Now HiSilicon is giving its 14nm chip orders to SMIC, an indication of the Chinese foundry's improved competitiveness. But the Chinese chip vendor still relies heavily on Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem for advanced processes, as it gives more emphasis on 5nm chips for 5G base stations amid weak demand for handset applications. Handset PCB suppliers have also reported low visibility beyond May.
HiSilicon places 14nm chip orders with SMIC: China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) with its 14nm FinFET process manufacturing has obtained orders from HiSilicon, according to industry sources.
HiSilicon to ramp up 5nm chip orders with backend houses in 3Q20: Taiwan-based backend houses including King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) will see orders for HiSilicon's 5nm chips for 5G base stations ramp up substantially in the third quarter of 2020 as Huawei's chipmaking arm may adjust its product portfolios for 5nm chips to cover more infrastructure applications, according to industry sources.
Handset PCB firms see limited order visibility beyond May: Handset PCB specialists' order visibility has extended only to May, and are still unsure about their overall sales results for second-quarter 2020 as orders for June are yet to be finalized, according to industry sources.