Despite US sanctions, China’s semiconductor SMIC records record sales
SMIC, a Chinese semiconductor foundry company, reported its best quarterly performance ever in the third quarter of this year (July-September).
Although Chinese foundry companies are having difficulty producing advanced semiconductors due to restrictions from the United States, sales appear to have increased as demand for older chips, such as those for local home appliances, has increased.
On the 8th, SMIC announced that it recorded sales of $2.17119 billion in the third quarter, a 34% increase compared to the same period last year ($1.62058 billion).
This is the highest quarterly sales ever, and the first time that SMIC’s sales have exceeded $2 billion. Operating profit was $169.89 million, and net profit was $148.8 million, up 94.4% and 58.3%, respectively, from the same period last year.
‘AI Semiconductor’ Rebellion signs partnership with Taiwan’s Pegatron
On the 8th, Rebellion announced that it had formed a strategic partnership with Pegatron. Through this collaboration, the two companies will jointly develop a high-performance module system equipped with Rebellion’s next-generation AI semiconductor, ‘Rebelle’.
This collaboration comes amid growing demand for systems that simultaneously maximize performance and energy efficiency in AI semiconductors. It combines Rebellion’s AI semiconductor chip design technology with Pegatron’s manufacturing capabilities.
Rebellion has already designed a large chip called ‘Rebelle’ based on chiplet technology equipped with high-performance memory, HBM3e. Chiplet technology refers to a technology that manufactures multiple semiconductor chips separately and then combines them into a single package. Pegatron is a hardware design and production company established in Taiwan in 2008.
Japan’s Kioxia postpones listing ‘again’ until June next year
The listing of Kioxia Holdings, a Japanese NAND flash memory semiconductor manufacturer, has been postponed again. The current goal is to list by June next year.
On the 8th, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that Kioxia, in which SK Hynix has indirectly invested, is aiming to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) between December of this year and June of next year.
Kioxia submitted a securities report to the Financial Services Agency on this day. The target market capitalization is over 1 trillion yen (approximately 9 trillion won). Kioxia originally aimed to go public last month, but postponed the listing due to the semiconductor market slump. Prior to this, it had also planned to go public in 2020, but postponed it due to the semiconductor market plunge caused by the coronavirus.
This time, Kioxia is going public through the ‘Pre-Approval Submission (S-1) method’. The typical IPO procedure is to submit a securities report after the Tokyo Stock Exchange approves the listing. After that, institutional investors, etc. decide on the issue price, etc.
Barker Chemicals Develops ‘Silane Precursor’, Essential Material for High-Integrated Semiconductors
Wacker Chemicals announced on the 7th that it has developed a precursor for silane, a special material essential for manufacturing high-density memory chips and microprocessors.
A precursor is a chemical material for thin film deposition. When this material is placed under a wafer and the temperature is raised, it turns into a gas and rises to the wafer directly above, where deposition takes place.
This development further strengthens Barker’s portfolio of specialty semiconductor materials. The newly developed silane is used in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) step of the semiconductor manufacturing process, where it reacts with the wafer surface to form an ultra-thin insulating layer with a low dielectric constant.
US, TSMC conclude semiconductor law negotiations
Bloomberg reported on the 6th (local time) that Taiwan’s TSMC and American foundry company GlobalFoundries have concluded ‘binding’ contract negotiations for billions of dollars in subsidies and loans to be provided to factories in the United States.
It is unclear when the contract will be formally signed, but the size of the grants and loans is roughly the same as previously announced by the U.S. government, the source said, requesting anonymity.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced in April that it would provide TSMC with $6.6 billion (about 9.2 trillion won) in subsidies and $5 billion in low-interest loans to establish a semiconductor factory in Arizona in accordance with the CHIPS Act. This support measure is in response to TSMC increasing its U.S. investment to $60 billion (about 83.2 trillion won).
U.S. Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturers Tell Suppliers to Remove Chinese Companies from Supply Chain
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 4th (local time) that U.S. semiconductor equipment manufacturers, including Applied Materials and Lam Research, are moving to exclude Chinese companies from their supply chains.
The companies have warned suppliers that they must find alternatives to certain components they receive from Chinese companies or they may not be able to deliver, the sources said.
Applied Materials and Lam Research, along with Netherlands-based ASML, are among the world’s top three semiconductor equipment makers. The companies also stressed that suppliers should not have Chinese investors or shareholders.
SemiFive, Japan’s MegaChips Collaborate on Semiconductor Design and Customer Discovery
Semifive announced on the 5th that it has decided to cooperate with Japan’s MegaChips to discover potential customers and provide on-site technical support in Japan.
MegaChips is a system semiconductor fabless company established in 1990. It provides various types of solutions such as application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) turnkey service, application-specific standard product (ASSP), and module. Based on advanced semiconductor development capabilities and technology, it supplies high-quality products tailored to customer needs.
With this agreement, Semifive evaluated that it has expanded its global business base. The company established an office in San Jose, USA in March 2021 and an office in Shanghai, China in August 2023.
POSCO Group Completes 550-ton Silicon Anode Material Plant… Produces 275,000 Electric Vehicles
POSCO Silicon Solutions, a secondary battery materials affiliate of POSCO Group, announced on the 7th that it has completed the comprehensive construction of the upper and lower processes of a silicon cathode material plant with an annual capacity of 550 tons in the Pohang Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex. An annual capacity of 550 tons is enough to produce 275,000 electric vehicles.
With this comprehensive completion of the upper and lower processes, POSCO Silicon Solutions has completed the entire process system from silicon composite production to coating. POSCO Silicon Solutions explained that it will now be able to improve the performance of battery materials that affect the charging and discharging efficiency of electric vehicle batteries.
China files additional complaint with WTO over EU electric vehicle tariffs
On the 4th, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on their website in a Q&A format, “On the 4th, we filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization dispute settlement mechanism regarding the European Union’s final anti-subsidy measures on our electric vehicles.”
“The EU’s final counter-subsidy measure lacks a factual or legal basis and violates World Trade Organization rules,” a Commerce Department spokesperson said. “We hope the EU will face up to its mistakes and immediately correct its illegal behavior.”
China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in August, claiming that the EU had “violated regulations” by imposing temporary additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. This is the second complaint filed three months later.
SK Shields, Drilling Holes in Electric Vehicle Battery to Put Out Fire Early
SK Shielders announced on the 4th that it signed a business agreement with Tank Tech, a fire extinguishing equipment specialist, and will begin collaborating on electric vehicle fire suppression solutions.
SK Shielders plans to provide an early fire suppression service for electric vehicles by introducing Tank Tech’s fire suppression solution, ‘EV Drill Lance’, which extinguishes fires by drilling a hole in the bottom of the electric vehicle where the battery is installed and directly injecting coolant.
Electric vehicles can spread fires faster than internal combustion engine vehicles, so a quick initial response is essential. However, it is difficult to extinguish the fire using external methods such as sprinklers, so there has been a continuous risk that the fire could spread into a large-scale fire.
China’s Xiaomi, production line ‘fully operational’ due to popularity of electric vehicles
Chinese economic media outlet First Finance reported on the 5th (local time) that Chinese company Xiaomi is operating its electric vehicle production line at full capacity due to a flood of orders for its first electric vehicle, the ‘SU7’. According to the report, Xiaomi’s expected monthly production volume of the SU7 in November and December of this year is estimated to reach 24,000 units each.
The production capacity of Xiaomi’s Beijing 1 factory, which is currently in operation, is 15,000 units per year and 12,500 units per month. The production utilization rate during this period is close to 200%.
Xiaomi is currently building its second Beijing factory, which is scheduled to be completed by June next year. It is expected to begin full-scale production by July or August next year at the latest.
Three copper companies hit hard by performance hit… ‘double whammy’ due to falling copper prices
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 6th, the three Dongbak companies recorded a deficit in the third quarter of this year.
SKC, which announced its performance the day before, posted a deficit of 62 billion won in the third quarter of this year. This is due to the continued deficit of SK Nexilis, which is in charge of the copper foil business, and it has recorded operating losses for a total of eight consecutive quarters up to this quarter. Lotte Energy Materials also turned to a deficit, recording an operating loss of 31.7 billion won in the third quarter of this year. During the same period, Solus Advanced Materials posted a deficit of 18.6 billion won.
Meanwhile, the price of copper, a key raw material that determines the profitability of the copper industry, is also falling, increasing the burden. As of the 25th of last month, the price of copper traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was recorded at $9,385 per ton, down 3.91% from a month ago.
Solus Advanced Materials, Promoting ‘Coppermark’ Certification… “Strengthening ESG Management”
Solus Advanced Materials announced on the 6th that it is pursuing the acquisition of the Copper Mark certification, a responsible purchasing certification system of the International Copper Association (ICA). Copper Mark is the only global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) certification system for the copper industry, established by the International Copper Association in 2019.
Compliance with environmental and human rights protection, regional coexistence, and ethical management is comprehensively evaluated throughout the entire process from ore mining to product production and sales. The London Metal Exchange (LME), the world’s largest metal exchange, recommends that companies in the industry implement responsible purchasing policies.
Lee Soo Group to Push for Acquisition of J.O… “Expecting Synergy in All-Solid-State Battery Development”
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 4th, Isu Group is pushing forward with a plan to acquire approximately 40% of the shares of special related parties, including CEO Kang Deuk-ju of J.O., for the early to mid-300 billion won range.
As of the closing price on the 1st, J.O.’s market capitalization is around 600 billion won, and it is known that the Isu Group has set J.O.’s value at around 800 billion won, including the management premium. J.O. is a company that manufactures conductive materials, which help the flow of electricity and electrons smoothly. Since the main materials of secondary batteries, the cathode and anode, are not conductive, conductive materials are absolutely necessary, and J.O.’s CNT is a replacement for carbon black, which was used as a conductive material in the past.
Startup Navipra to supply autonomous driving solutions to Neuromeka
Navipra, a logistics robot autonomous driving solution specialist, announced on the 5th that it has supplied its modular autonomous driving solution, ‘NCB-Block’, to Neuromeka, a collaborative robot specialist.
NaviPra is a startup specializing in autonomous driving solutions that develops and supplies autonomous driving solutions such as ‘NaviCore’, which provides high-precision driving functions to unmanned transport robots and unmanned forklifts used in manufacturing plants and logistics warehouses, and ‘NaviBrain’, a control solution that can control multiple robots without deadlock.
The solution supplied to Neuromeka includes NCBL (NaviCore-Brain Localization), a position estimation technology, and NCBM (NaviCore-Brain Motion Control), a technology that enables sophisticated motion control without dependency between heterogeneous robots.
Emotion-Bayless join hands to develop autonomous driving SW platform
Emotion and Bayliss announced on the 1st that they have signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of an autonomous driving SW platform.
According to the Daekyung ICT Industry Association, this business agreement is a preliminary step to achieve innovation in autonomous driving technology through the technological synergy of the two companies and to provide efficient next-generation autonomous driving solutions. The goal of both companies is to develop safe and reliable autonomous driving solutions.
Accordingly, the plan is to accelerate the development of efficient sensor data processing, path planning, and vehicle control systems for autonomous vehicles by combining Emotion’s automotive electrical software technology and Bayless’ autonomous driving platform technology.
Chinese autonomous driving startup: “To be supplied with Nvidia chips”
According to CNBC on the 5th (local time), DeepRoot CEO Maxwell Zhou said that day that the company is working closely with Nvidia and is also having in-depth discussions with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The company currently uses NVIDIA’s Orin automotive chip for its autonomous driving systems to assist drivers, and has agreed to supply the new Thor chip in the future. The Thor chip is for systems that use more visual cues to manage more complex driving situations, and it is the first time that NVIDIA is supplying it to a Chinese company.
Moray Develops Autonomous Driving Certification System with ‘Global Open Alliance’
Morai, a company specializing in autonomous driving simulation, announced on the 4th that it will participate in the formation of a global open alliance and begin developing an international certification system for autonomous driving technology.
Morai is participating in the ‘Development of an International Technology Certification System through the Formation of a Global Open Alliance’ project of the Automobile Industry Technology Development Project hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Global Open Alliance is an international cooperation project in which various companies and research institutes collaborate to establish a technology certification system with the goal of international standardization of autonomous driving technology.
Daedong, Establishment of Intelligent Autonomous Driving Robotics Company ‘Daedong Robotics’
Daedong announced on the 4th that it has established ‘Daedong Robotics’, a specialized robot subsidiary that will fully promote the agricultural artificial intelligence (AI) robot business.
Daedong Robotics was established as a joint venture (JV) between Daedong Mobility and Korea Institute of Robotics (KIRO), the top domestic robot research institute. Daedong plans to foster Daedong Robotics as a global intelligent robot specialized company within the group.
Daedong is promoting the group’s five major future businesses, including smart agricultural machinery, farms, mobility, AI robotics, and small construction equipment.
LG Electronics’ ‘Vehicle AR Display’ Wins Sejong the Great Award for Patent Technology
Researchers Choi Byeong-jun, Chae Ji-seok, Son Jeong-hun, Kim Il-wan, and Park Jong-tae, who developed LG Electronics’ ‘AR display device for a vehicle and its operating method’, were selected for the Sejong the Great Award, the top patent technology award of the year.
LG Electronics has invented a technology that creates route guidance information as virtual graphics and displays it in a natural way combined with the real environment, allowing drivers to intuitively recognize the route, thereby providing a safe driving environment.
Currently, the company has completed the development of automobile parts using this technology and is recognized for its technological prowess by many global automakers, contributing to product orders and software solution monetization.
LG Display to implement voluntary retirement for office workers for the first time in 5 years
LG Display is implementing voluntary retirement for office workers for the first time in five years. Following a deficit of over 2 trillion won last year, the company is undergoing additional restructuring as it continues to record deficits for two consecutive quarters this year.
According to industry sources on the 6th, LG Display will accept applications for voluntary retirement for two weeks starting the next day for office workers. The target is employees who have worked for more than 5 years, are 40 years of age or older, or are in a managerial position or higher. Those who take voluntary retirement will receive 30 months’ worth of basic salary as retirement support, a transfer support allowance (6 months’ worth of basic salary), and tuition. LG Display plans to complete voluntary retirement for office workers by mid-December.
Seoul Semiconductor, operating profit of 3.9 billion won in the third quarter of this year… turning to profit
Seoul Semiconductor announced on the 8th that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was provisionally calculated to be 3.9 billion won, turning a profit compared to the same period last year (operating loss of 13.5 billion won). Sales increased by 6.7% compared to the same period last year to 308 billion won. Net loss narrowed to 8.1 billion won.
Seoul Semiconductor explained, “Despite the uncertainty of the global economy and the difficult business conditions in the domestic market, automotive sales increased thanks to our optical semiconductor ‘WICOP’ technology.”
Source: kipost.net