Top business leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, and Siemens CEO Roland Busch, recently attended the 2025 China Development Forum in Beijing. In his opening address, Chinese Premier Li Qiang reaffirmed China's previously established commitments which include fostering open cooperation, fair competition under international rules, and supporting global supply chain stability. He invited foreign enterprises to deepen their integration into the Chinese market, according to Reuters, HK01, and a press release by the Chinese government
BYD Co's sales last year surpassed the US$100 billion mark, leapfrogging Elon Musk's Tesla Inc on revenue, as the Chinese auto giant wows consumers with a range of electric and hybrid cars packed with high-tech features
BYD Electronics reported its full-year financial results for 2024, with revenue rising 36.43% year-over-year to CNY177.306 billion (approx. US$24.45 billion). Gross profit increased 17.9% to CNY12.3 billion, while net income attributable to shareholders reached CNY4.27 billion, up 5.55% from the previous year. EBITDA surged 45.21% to CNY11.66 billion. Earnings per share stood at CNY1.89, and the company proposed a final dividend of CNY0.568, slightly higher than last year's CNY0.538
Samsung Electronics Co. announced on March 24 that its co-CEO, Jong-Hee Han, had died from cardiac arrest at the age of 63. Han shared leadership duties with co-CEO Young-hyun Jun, who manages the company's semiconductor division. Since his appointment as co-CEO in 2021, Han has led the company's efforts to compete with Apple in the smartphone market while maintaining a strong presence in consumer electronics, reports Reuters, Bloomberg, and Yonhap News
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a solid-state deep ultraviolet (DUV) laser that emits 193nm light in lab conditions—a wavelength critical for semiconductor lithography. Although still in the early research phase and not ready for commercial applications, its emergence has been viewed as a potential challenger to the excimer laser systems currently used in chip production
Japan's Meiko is set to become the third supplier in the low-Earth orbit satellite market by 2025, challenging the dominance of Taiwanese manufacturers Compeq and Unitech as geopolitical tensions drive supply chain diversification
The combined revenue of Taiwan's major wafer foundry houses is anticipated to hit US$27.71 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a sequential decline of 5.8%. However, as AI/HPC chip demand continues to be strong and consumer electronics inventory is being gradually replenished, revenue in the second quarter is expected to rebound 5.7% quarterly to US$29.3 billion, according to DIGITIMES' quarterly report covering Taiwan's wafer foundry industry
SK Hynix is reportedly accelerating equipment installation at its M15X fab in Cheongju, South Korea, moving the original timeline forward from December to October in response to surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Supply chain sources say vendors are now operating under heightened urgency as they scramble to meet the new schedule
TCL Technology Group Corporation's (TCL) acquisition of LG Display (LGD)'s Chinese subsidiaries, approved by authorities and slated for completion by 2025, marks a strategic shift in the global display industry. As the Guangzhou plant transitions ownership, LGD reallocates resources to OLED development, strengthening TCL's market share and enhancing its financial prospects amid rising LCD demand
At its 2025 China Partner Conference, Huawei outlined its roadmap for the next phase of artificial intelligence, spotlighting AI agents designed for autonomous planning and execution across industries. David Wang, Executive Director and Chair of Huawei's ICT Infrastructure Managing Board, reported that 2024 revenue reached CNY860 billion (US$118.5 billion), up 22% from the previous year. Sales to government and enterprise clients in China rose over 25%, becoming a key growth driver
The Japan Innovation Network (JIC) has completed the tender offer for shares of Shinko Electric Industries, a Fujitsu subsidiary specializing in IC substrates, and the company is expected to be delisted by mid-June 2025
During a visit to participate in the China Development Forum, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-Yong and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon reportedly visited Xiaomi's factory in Beijing to meet with Xiaomi's top executives Lei Jun and Lin Bin. The visit has sparked speculation about a potential collaboration between Samsung and Xiaomi in automotive electronic components, despite their competition in the smartphone and home appliance markets
Apple CEO Tim Cook made his first Beijing visit of the year to attend the China Development Forum (CDF). He joined global business leaders to explore market opportunities and reaffirm Apple's regional commitment, reports Global Times, Yahoo!, and the Standard
Rapidus' Hokkaido investment is exacerbating Japan's semiconductor talent shortage. Companies struggle to fill open positions, revealing a critical gap in skilled workers and instructors despite efforts to bolster local training programs
Kunimasa Suzuki, chairman of Intel KK, the Japanese subsidiary of US semiconductor giant Intel, will retire at the end of March 2025. However, he will continue to serve as chairman of the Semiconductor Assembly Test Automation and Standardization Research Association (SATAS)
