News Highlights

1. ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. is vying for the "Fan - Out Panel - Level Advanced Packaging" market.

2. Applied Materials suffered a revenue loss of 400 million US dollars due to the China - US chip ban.

3. The semiconductor industry in Taiwan, China continues to grow.

4. North China Innovation Co., Ltd. has completed a capital increase of 510 million yuan.

5. Ziguang Guowei has welcomed a new president.

1. ASE vies for "Fan - Out Panel - Level Advanced Packaging", to conduct trial production by the end of the year and provide samples next year

In the future, the advanced packaging technology landscape will no longer be dominated by CoWoS. Wu Tianyu, the Chief Operating Officer of ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd., pointed out on the 18th that the group's Fan - Out Panel - Level Packaging (FOPLP), on which it has been conducting R & D and layout for more than 10 years, saw an investment of 200 million US dollars in equipment procurement last year. It is planned to establish a production line at the Kaohsiung factory. Equipment is expected to be moved in the second half of this year, and trial production will be carried out by the end of this year. If all goes well, samples will be provided for customer certification next year. In the future, the ASE Group will enhance its competitiveness and expand its layout in the field of advanced packaging.

Wu Tianyu said that in the past, ASE's R & D and layout of FOPLP received strong support from customers. With specific R & D achievements, a resolution was made last year to invest 200 million US dollars to officially establish a production line. In the past, ASE worked with a 300x300 specification, and after achieving good results in trial production, it has now advanced to a 600x600 square specification. Wu Tianyu believes that if the yield rate of 600x600 meets expectations, there will be customers starting product introduction. At that time, 600x600 is expected to become the mainstream specification for FOPLP.

Wu Tianyu stated that ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. placed orders for FOPLP equipment procurement last year. The relevant machines are scheduled to be moved in and installed in the second and third quarters of this year, and trial production is expected to be carried out by the end of this year. If the trial production is successful, samples can be provided to customers for verification next year, and then mass production and shipment can begin, officially contributing to operations.

2. Applied Materials suffered a revenue loss of 400 million US dollars due to the China - US chip ban

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - US), a global semiconductor equipment giant, announced its financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 on February 14. The financial report shows that the company's revenue for the quarter was 7.17 billion US dollars, a year - on - year increase of 7%, and earnings per share (Non - GAAP) was 2.38 US dollars, a year - on - year increase of 12%, both exceeding market expectations. However, affected by the China - US chip ban, Applied Materials stopped equipment maintenance services for some customers in mainland China. It is estimated that the company's annual revenue for fiscal year 2025 will be reduced by 400 million US dollars as a result, with approximately half of the loss expected to occur in the second quarter. This forecast is far lower than market expectations, causing the company's stock price to plummet by 8.18% in trading after the financial report was released.

Despite facing short - term shocks, Gary Dickerson, CEO of Applied Materials, remains optimistic. He believes that with the rise of AI technology, the long - term demand in the semiconductor industry will continue to grow, which is expected to offset the losses in the Chinese market.

3. The semiconductor industry in Taiwan, China continues to grow

According to statistics from the Industrial Technology Research Institute's Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center in Taiwan, China, the output value of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan exceeded NT$5 trillion for the first time in 2024, reaching NT$5.3151 trillion (approximately US$165.6 billion), a year - on - year increase of 22.4%. It is estimated that the output value of the industry will exceed NT$6 trillion in 2025, reaching NT$6.1785 trillion, a year - on - year increase of 16.2%.

Among them, the IC design, IC manufacturing, foundry, IC packaging, and IC testing industries all showed significant growth. In 2024, the output value of the foundry industry reached as high as NT$3.2438 trillion, a year - on - year increase of 30.1%. The Industrial Technology Research Institute pointed out that as end - products such as smartphones, automotive electronics, and servers gradually incorporate generative AI technology, the importance of semiconductor components has become even more prominent.

In addition, the total global semiconductor market sales in 2024 reached US$627.6 billion, a year - on - year increase of 19.1%. The annual growth rate of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan has been higher than the global average for several consecutive years, and this trend is expected to continue in 2025.

4. North China Innovation Co., Ltd. completed a capital increase of 510 million yuan

On February 17, North China Innovation Co., Ltd. announced that it had increased the capital of its wholly - owned subsidiary, North China Innovation Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd., by 510 million yuan. The Beijing Integrated Circuit Equipment Industry Investment and M&A Fund Phase II (hereinafter referred to as the "Phase II Fund") in which it participated in the establishment has completed relevant registration and filing procedures.

The total fundraising scale of the Phase II Fund is 3 billion yuan, and the first - phase cash fundraising is planned to be no more than 2.5 billion yuan. The fund will focus on investing in semiconductor equipment, components, materials, software, components, and new technologies in the upstream and downstream industries. The fund manager, Novotech Capital, is jointly held by Beijing Electronic - controlled Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., Beijing Xinchuangzhihe Semiconductor Technology Partnership, and other parties.

This capital increase and the establishment of the fund will further promote North China Innovation's strategic layout in the semiconductor field and contribute to the development of the domestic integrated circuit industry.

5. Ziguang Guowei welcomes a new president

On February 17, Ziguang Guowei announced that Xie Wengang, the company's director and president, resigned from his relevant positions for personal reasons but will still hold a position in the company's holding company. At the same time, the company appointed Li Tianchi as the new president.

Li Tianchi has held important positions in several enterprises, including the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and Ziguang Group, and has rich management experience. Industry insiders believe that this "change of leadership" is an important decision for Ziguang Guowei's business transformation. Li Tianchi is good at introducing customer resources and grasping user needs, and is expected to promote the company to increase resource investment in fields such as special - purpose integrated circuits and enhance market competitiveness.

As one of the major comprehensive integrated circuit enterprises in China, this management adjustment of Ziguang Guowei is regarded as an important step in its business transformation and model upgrading.