Ever since India embarked on its journey into semiconductor manufacturing, Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) and Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) plants have been considered ideal entry points for the industry

The Biden Administration announced in May that it would be increasing tariff rates on China-based products including semiconductors and electric vehicles (EVs). USTR claimed that the increased tariff rate on EVs would become effective on September 27, which would impose a 100% increase on tariffs for China-based EVs

Chinese semiconductor firms are rapidly expanding into Southeast Asia, with ASEAN countries emerging as key partners in their international push. Despite hurdles in developing their own chip industries—Singapore's limited scale, Malaysia's talent gap, and Vietnam's underdeveloped infrastructure—China's capital, technology, and expertise offer significant spillover benefits in the region

With strong backing from the Chinese government, Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is aggressively expanding its DRAM production capacity, potentially challenging the triopoly led by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron

China's telecom infrastructure tenders are not being implemented with enthusiasm, resulting in limited visibility for network chip orders from the sector, according to industry sources

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued a directive urging automakers to audit their chip usage and push for chip replacement verifications, intending to hit a 20-25% localization rate by 2024. Companies that fail to meet this threshold will see a gradual reduction in government incentives. The push comes as Beijing braces for stricter US measures aimed at curbing chip trade with China through pressure on key allies like Japan and the Netherlands

China recently achieved a milestone with its indigenous lithography system, which is capable of producing chips at nodes smaller than 65nm. However, the development of an immersive DUV system remains several years away

At SEMICON India 2024, major Japanese semiconductor suppliers participated, with Tokyo Electron set to expand its presence in India, underscoring the strategy to tap into the growing Indian market while reducing reliance on China

China's electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are expanding their overseas production to circumvent rising tariffs in many parts of the world. This move comes as China emerges as a powerhouse in the global automobile industry, having surpassed Japan in 2023 to become the world's largest car exporter

TSMC, with its advanced manufacturing processes, is an indispensable partner not just for US tech firms such as Nvidia, AWS, and Google in their AI chip developments, but also for many Chinese players, including Cambricon Technologies and Biren Technology, that are vying for a position in the AI era

Dixon Technologies has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Padget Electronics, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Asus India for manufacturing notebooks, according to a corporate filing with the BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India

India's approval of one wafer fab and four integrated circuit (IC) backend projects has prompted semiconductor equipment providers from the US and Japan to expand their operations in the country. Applied Materials, the world's largest chipmaking tool supplier by revenue, has unveiled plans to collaborate with numerous semiconductor companies to establish a cluster of chipmaking facilities in India

One of the critical focal points in the US-China tech war is the collaborative effort by the US, Japan, and the Netherlands to prevent Chinese semiconductor companies from acquiring essential equipment for front-end wafer manufacturing. This initiative began during the Trump administration, which halted the export of ASML's EUV lithography machines to China in 2019

China-based Lenovo has announced plans to begin manufacturing AI servers at its Puducherry plant in southern India and has established a dedicated AI servers R&D lab in Bengaluru. This initiative could position India as one of the few countries with significant AI server production capabilities

Across the world, countries are spending wagonloads of taxpayer money to develop or support their semiconductor industries. This pipeline of cash has yielded some successes and some failures; the difference is usually down to how strategically the money has been spent. The Indian government, which has also loosened its purse strings, needs to figure out a strategy — and soon