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Thursday 22 May 2025
US sets the stage for duties on battery materials from China
The US Commerce Department set the stage for anti-subsidy duties on imports of key battery components from China after concluding materials had been unfairly subsidized
Thursday 22 May 2025
From volume to value: Samsung retreats from legacy DRAM facing Chinese price war
Samsung Electronics has sharply reduced its memory chip production—by more than 100 billion units in a year—raising eyebrows across South Korea's tech industry. The unexpected drop, revealed in the company's latest quarterly report, signals a strategic pivot amid intensifying price competition from Chinese rivals
Wednesday 21 May 2025
CATL's US$2 billion German plant boosts China's invest-abroad bet
More than two years ago, on the outskirts of a medieval German town, China's biggest EV battery company placed a EUR1.8 billion (US$2 billion) bet on the future of global trade
Wednesday 21 May 2025
Chinese smartphone exports to US plunge to lowest since 2011
Chinese shipments of Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other mobile devices to the US dived to their lowest levels since 2011 in April, underscoring how the threat of US tariffs choked off the flow of big-ticket goods between the world's two largest economies
Wednesday 21 May 2025
Khgears eyes early lead in China's humanoid robot race as 2H25 production kicks off
Khgears International Limited secured four humanoid robot customers and will begin small-batch for a customer in the second half of 2025, with revenue recognition expected in the fourth quarter. Although large-scale deployment of humanoid robots remains distant, Khgears believes its smart transmission business could approach 10% of total revenue by 2025 as the sector gains traction
Wednesday 21 May 2025
Japan’s chip buildout stalls as new fabs sit idle
Of the seven semiconductor fabs completed in Japan during fiscal 2023–2024 (April 2023 to March 2025), only three had begun mass production by April 2025. New facilities from Kioxia, Renesas Electronics, Rohm Semiconductor, and Sanken Electric remain inactive, while Sony has launched production but is moving forward conservatively
Wednesday 21 May 2025
NextDrive rises in Japan’s battery market
Japan's behind-the-meter energy storage market is entering a period of significant policy benefits. Driven by subsidy programs and residential demand, the market is rapidly heating up with simultaneous growth in applications and distribution channels. Taiwan-based energy IoT platform provider NextDrive has strategically positioned itself ahead of this trend, recently announcing partnerships with leading Japanese home energy storage brand Choshu Industry (CIC) and Hanwha Japan, boosting its market share ranking to third place with plans to challenge for second place in 2025
Wednesday 21 May 2025
CATL: One in two new heavy-duty trucks in China will be electric by 2028
Robin Zeng, Chairman of CATL, announced on May 18, 2025, that electric vehicles could comprise 50% of all new heavy-duty truck sales in China by 2028, rising sharply from 10% in 2025. According to Reuters, East Money, and Gasgoo, the forecast highlights China's accelerating freight electrification and CATL's evolving multi-sector strategy
Tuesday 20 May 2025
China says US Huawei chip ban could derail fragile trade truce
China's Ministry of Commerce has denounced new US restrictions targeting Huawei's artificial intelligence (AI) chips, arguing the move threatens the recently established trade consensus between the two nations in Geneva. The Ministry urged Washington to "immediately correct its wrongful actions" and cease what it called discriminatory measures against Chinese companies
Tuesday 20 May 2025
As Nissan falters, Toyota may offer lifeline in quiet, government-backed move
Once a pillar of Japan's automotive might, Nissan now finds itself in financial peril, with talks of potential mergers or alliances repeatedly falling through. After a failed merger attempt with Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, reports from Japanese media suggest that Toyota—Japan's largest and most influential carmaker—may be quietly extending a helping hand. However, neither Toyota nor Nissan has confirmed the rumors through official channels
Tuesday 20 May 2025
Samsung enters crisis mode: TV market lead under threat as TCL CSOT, Hisense close in
Samsung Electronics' Visual Display (VD) Business has reportedly entered "emergency management" mode in response to falling global TV market share and rising LCD panel costs—two critical factors driving the company's internal shakeup. According to The Korea Economic Daily, Yonhap News Agency, and Korea Daily News, Yong Seok-woo, President and Head of the VD Business, recently told executives the division would adopt tighter operational policies as part of a broader crisis response strategy
Tuesday 20 May 2025
SK Hynix places orders for HBM equipment with Hanwha Semitech and Hanmi Semiconductor amid patent disputes
South Korean chip giant SK Hynix has placed significant orders for thermal compression bonding (TCB) equipment with two domestic suppliers, Hanwha Semitech and Hanmi Semiconductor, signaling a strategic push to expand its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing capabilities
Tuesday 20 May 2025
Huawei unveils HarmonyOS PCs: foldable design, full-stack control, cross-device ecosystem
Huawei, on May 19, 2025, launched its first personal computers powered by HarmonyOS, after five years of development involving more than 10,000 engineers. The MateBook Pro and MateBook Fold Ultimate Design are the first laptops to run HarmonyOS 5, marking a pivotal moment in China's drive for full-stack operating system autonomy in the PC sector
Tuesday 20 May 2025
Xiaomi's XRing SoC: next HiSilicon breakthrough or Zeku-style flameout?
Years after launching the Pinecone Surge S1 in 2017, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun announced the company's return to in-house smartphone chip design. Its new self-developed SoC, the XRing O1, is set to debut on May 22. Lei disclosed that Xiaomi has poured over CNY13.5 billion (approx. US$1.87 billion) into developing the XRing, supported by a 2,500-strong engineering team. The company plans to invest an additional CNY6 billion in R&D in 2025
Tuesday 20 May 2025
DRAM prices surge in AI Boom; Samsung and SK Hynix set to benefit

The global surge in DRAM prices, combined with the increasing momentum of artificial intelligence (AI) development in the Middle East, positions South Korea's memory chip giants—Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—to benefit significantly from the renewed growth in the semiconductor sector. With both companies at the forefront of this market shift, they are set to capitalize on the rising demand for advanced memory solutions driven by AI innovations and broader technological trends

Research Report Database
Intel signals overhaul of IDM 2.0 and foundry strategy with Lip-Bu Tan's appointment, says DIGITIMES