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Thursday 10 July 2025
Taiwan suppliers eye foldable smartphone growth, face barriers in South Korea
Taiwanese component suppliers are ramping up efforts to enter the growing foldable smartphone market, but penetrating South Korea's highly integrated supply chain remains a major challenge. Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest Galaxy Z foldable series on July 10, 2025, emphasizing slimmer, lighter designs—a trend seen as critical in the next phase of smartphone innovation
Thursday 10 July 2025
China's EDA shakeup stalls as Empyrean nixes Xpeedic deal

Empyrean Technology, one of China's top electronic design automation (EDA) vendors, announced on July 9 that it has terminated its proposed acquisition of Xpeedic Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. The unexpected cancellation marks a setback for China's ambitions to consolidate and strengthen its domestic EDA industry

Thursday 10 July 2025
Yageo-Shibaura merger talks shift to Taipei, signaling strategic pivot in acquisition push
Taiwan-based passive component manufacturer Yageo Corporation is advancing its bid to acquire Japan's Shibaura Electronics following multiple deadline extensions and a surprise bid by competitor Minebea Mitsumi. Senior executives from both companies will meet in Taipei in mid-July 2025 for a third round of discussions, marking a significant development in the protracted cross-border merger process
Thursday 10 July 2025
Samsung looking to launch triple-fold smartphone in 2025
Samsung Electronics plans to launch a triple-fold smartphone by 2025, and for its goal in 2025, the Korean brand aims to equip its existing 400 million Galaxy devices with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, according to senior executives. These moves signal Samsung's continued push into both foldable devices and mobile AI technology
Thursday 10 July 2025
Samsung updates 2025 supplier list, signals strategic shift in displays and China partnerships
Samsung Electronics has released its 2025 Sustainability Report, unveiling an updated list of 112 official suppliers—seven companies have been removed since 2024, while six new names have been added. The most notable changes occurred within the display sector, hinting at a strategic pivot in Samsung's LCD business and a subtle realignment of its relationships with Chinese suppliers
Thursday 10 July 2025
China targets Taiwan defense companies with export controls amid limited business ties
China's Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday added eight Taiwanese defense contractors to its export control entity list, marking Beijing's latest effort to pressure the island's military-industrial complex despite minimal existing commercial relationships
Thursday 10 July 2025
Samsung's chip division weighs on earnings with KRW1T write-down in 2Q25
Samsung Electronics saw its second-quarter 2025 operating profit plunge nearly 56% year-over-year, largely driven by underperformance in its semiconductor unit. The Device Solutions (DS) division, responsible for 50-60% of Samsung's overall revenue, is projected to record an inventory write-down of about KRW1 trillion (US$729 million). The downturn was compounded by prolonged weakness in the NAND flash market and ongoing losses in Samsung's foundry business
Thursday 10 July 2025
China targets Taiwanese defense firms with export ban—but impact may be limited
China is turning up the heat on Taiwan's defense sector—but the immediate fallout may be limited
Thursday 10 July 2025
LG Energy Solution swings to profit as US battery demand lifts results
South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) posted a significantly stronger operating profit in the second quarter of 2025, ending a streak of six consecutive quarters of losses and highlighting improved company fundamentals. Operating income rose 152% year-over-year to KRW492.2 billion (approx. US$355 million), despite a 9.7% decrease in revenue to KRW5.56 trillion. Data from financial platform FnGuide showed that LGES's sales were 2.9% below analysts' consensus estimates, while its operating profit surpassed forecasts by 56.3%
Thursday 10 July 2025
South Korea's ESOL secures funding to challenge EUV supply chain dominance and boost domestic production
South Korean semiconductor extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment company ESOL recently announced the successful completion of a KRW74 billion (US$54.1 million) Series B financing round. Industry experts view this investment not only as a capital injection but also as an important signal that South Korea is accelerating the commercialization of subsequent products through technology localization in the core EUV process field
Thursday 10 July 2025
AgiBot's Lingxi X2-N raises the bar for humanoid robots with dual-mode mobility
On July 7, 2025, Shanghai Zhiyuan New Innovation Technology, better known as AgiBot, unveiled its next-generation humanoid robot, the Lingxi X2-N. Featuring an innovative dual-mode design, the Lingxi X2-N has become a focal point in the robotics industry, highlighting the fast-paced growth and advancing capabilities of China's humanoid robotics sector
Wednesday 9 July 2025
How China's trade-in policy is reviving South Korea's 8‑inch chip sector
In the escalating US-China tensions, China's aggressive drive to boost domestic semiconductor production—coupled with a sweeping "trade-in" subsidy program—has led to a surge of orders flowing to South Korean 8-inch wafer foundries, creating an unexpected boon for the nation's mature chip manufacturing sector
Wednesday 9 July 2025
Amazon's Project Kuiper targets South Korea in global satellite push

Amazon's satellite internet venture, Project Kuiper, is accelerating its expansion into Asia, with a focus on South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan — three strategically vital nations amid rising demand for resilient communications infrastructure and growing competition in low-Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity

Wednesday 9 July 2025
What Trump’s ‘tariff fines’ mean for Asia
US President Donald Trump has officially issued the latest round of tariff notices, targeting 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar
Wednesday 9 July 2025
Top-3 Chinese suppliers of Apple all head to Hong Kong for IPO
Luxshare Precision, Lens Technology, and Goertek, China-based top-tier suppliers of Apple, are racing toward IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) as they seek capital to fuel transformation amid US-China trade frictions and supply chain realignments. Long defined by iPhone-related business, the trio is now banking on public listings to fund their next chapter in global manufacturing
9/11 Veeam Platform Webinar
Intel signals overhaul of IDM 2.0 and foundry strategy with Lip-Bu Tan's appointment, says DIGITIMES