01

Policy Trend（April 21）

USA announced to impose 3403.96% tariffs!

On April 21, 2025, the US Commerce Department announced its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on solar cell and battery panel imports from four Southeast Asian countries, namely Cambodia, Maylasia, Thailand, and Vietnam, of which the anti-subsidy rate set for Cambodian is as high as 3403.96%. The tariff adjustment was the result of a trade lawsuit filed by American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee against Southeast Asian plants established by Chinese companies. The alliance accused these companies of exporting their products at below-cost prices and receiving improper subsidies, which impaired the local industry of the USA.

The tariff adjustment will have a far-reaching impact on the global landscape of PV industry. Previously, Southeast Asia is an important production base for Chinese PV companies to evade US tariffs. However, the new tariff policy has driven the export costs of these regions to rise sharply, causing some companies such as JinkoSolar, Trina Solar, etc. to shut down their plants in Southeast Asia and transfer their capacity to Indonesia, Laos, and even the Middle East. In addition, although American local PV industry has increased its capacity to some extent, it still depends on imported materials. Moreover, the tariff policy will significantly increase the cost of the solar projects in the USA and delay its clean energy transformation process in the short run.

Comments: It seems that the high tariffs imposed by the US government will protect its solar energy industry, but its negative impact cannot be ignored. First of all, the tariff policy will further push up the price of solar modules in the USA, increase the cost of clean energy projects, and thus delay the clean energy transformation process in the USA. Secondly, the restructuring of the global PV industry supply chain is inevitable. Chinese companies are accelerating transferring their production capacity to other regions. Although American local manufacturing industry has developed, it still faces problems like weak supply chains, high costs, etc. In addition, this protectionist move of the USA may trigger countermeasures by other countries, which will further exacerbate global trade tensions. Against the context of global economic integration, with the move of protecting domestic industries by imposing additional tariffs, the USA will not only have difficulty in achieving long-term industrial revival but also may undermine the stability and cooperation of the global industrial chain.

02

Company Trend（April 22）

Samsung foundry in Taylor faces risk of huge losses

Recently, Samsung Electronics’ wafer foundry project in Taylor, Texas, USA has attracted widespread attention. According to South Korean media Chosun Daily, the loss of Samsung’s wafer foundry business unit reached 2trn won in 2023 and even increased to 4trn won in 2024. Due to this trend of loss, Samsung’s foundry in the USA faces a poor prospect.

At present, the construction progress of Samsungs plant in Tyler, Texas, has reached 99.6%, basically close to completion. However, Samsung is still hesitating whether to continue its equipment procurement program because it has not yet attracted big customers and there are high operation cost and potential high tariffs in the US market. Although Samsung announced that the plant will be put into operation as originally scheduled in 2026, the general expectation, both internally and externally, was that the sales of Samsung could be lower than expected due to poor market conditions and insufficient orders.

In addition, the US government announced in advance that it would impose a 25% tariff on semiconductors, which will further increase Samsungs operating costs. Meanwhile, the labor costs of Samsung in the USA will increase as it is difficult for the company to second necessary labor force from South Korea to the USA. With all these factors together, Samsungs wafer foundry in the USA faces a huge risk of losses.

Comments: The plight of Samsungs foundry in the US reflects the complex situation of the global semiconductor industry under the influence of geopolitical and trade policies. On the one hand, the US governments tariff and industrial policies have caused a major impact on the overseas layout of semiconductor companies, increasing the operating costs and market uncertainty of these companies. On the other hand, Samsung’s small market share and insufficient customer resources in the field of wafer foundry makes it more vulnerable to market and policy risks.

Samsung s plight also shows the dilemma of semiconductor companies in their global layout. On the one side, related companies need to expand their markets and obtain resources through overseas investment; on the other side, increased geopolitical conflicts and trade protectionism make foreign investment face higher risk. In addition, the foundry project of Samsung in the USA warns other semiconductor companies to assess market and policy risks prudently when making their layouts overseas so as to avoid long-term losses due to short-term policy orientation.

03

Company Trend（April 22）

Intel to lay off 20,000 workers

Recently, Intel announced a series of major restructuring programs, including lay off of about 20,000 workers. This is one of the key moves taken by Lip-Bu Tan, Intels new CEO, to address the companys current challenges. This layoff is expected to cut off 20% of Intel’s global workforce and is another massive workforce downsizing after the 15% cut of its workforce (about 15,000 workers) in August 2024.

In recent years, Intel has faced a number of challenges, including loss of market share, poor financial performance, and lagging behind in terms of emerging technologies. In 2024, Intel reported its first annual loss since 1986, with a loss of up to US$19bn. Additionally, Although Intel has made progress in AI chips, it has failed to keep pace with its rivals, leading to its market share being taken by such rivals as Nvidia.

The layoff is part of Intel’s restructuring program, which aims to reduce the companys bureaucratic work style and improve its operational efficiency and innovation by simplifying management layers. Intel plans to reduce its operating costs by US$1.5bn over the next few years. In addition, Intel also plans to further optimize its financial position by taking measures such as reducing development of non-core products and suspending payment of dividends.

Comments: Intels massive workforce cut reflects its tough decision to compete in the marketplace and technological changes. On the one hand, layoff helps Intel reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and provide greater flexibility in responding to market changes. On the other hand, layoffs can also bring forth potential risks. For example, outflow of talents can lead to a lack of innovation motivation and further affect the companys long-term competitiveness. From the perspective of the industry, Intels job downsizing shows the increased competition in the semiconductor industry. With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as AI, 5G and others, the semiconductor industry is undergoing profound changes. As Intels competitors such as Nvidia and AMD show strong performance in these areas, Intel needs to re-establish its market position by means of restructuring and strategic alignment.

04

Company Trend（April 24）

SK hynix’s profit soars 158% in Q1 2025

SK hynix unveiled its financial report for Q1 FY2025 on April 24, 2025, showing that the company has achieved strong results. In Q1, the company reported consolidated revenue of 17.6391trn won (about US$12.36bn), up 42% YoY, operating profit of 7.4405trn won (about US$5.214bn), up 158% YoY, and net profit of 8.1082trn won (about US$5.682bn), up 323% YoY.

This performance growth was driven primarily by increased competition for AI development, the demand to replenish inventory, and faster improvement of the storage market than expected. SK hynix, following the market trend, expanded the sales of its high-value-added products such as 12-tier HBM3E and DDR5. Especially in the field of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), SK hynix, as an important supplier of Nvidia, benefits from the strong demand for key AI components such as HBM.

In addition, SK hynix recorded a 36% market share in Q1 2025, surpassing Samsungs 34% for the first time, showing its strong competitiveness in the storage chip market. The company expects that the demand of HBM will be doubled YoY in 2025, with the sales of 12-tier HBM3E accounting for more than half of the total HBM3E sales in Q2.

Comments: The surge of SK hynixs profit in Q1 reflects its strategic layout and successful capture of market opportunities in the AI chip field. With the rapid development of the global AI market, the demand for high-end storage chips such as HBM continues to rise, and SK hynix became the main beneficiaries of this trend due to its technological advantages and market position.

SK hynixs strong performance also highlights the huge potential of the storage chip industry in the AI era. With the continuous progress of AI technology, the demand for high-performance, low power consumption storage devices will continue to grow, which will provide more market opportunities for the makers of storage chips. However, the competition within the industry will be further intensified, and SK hynix needs to continue to invest in R&D to maintain its leading position in the field of high-end storage chips.

In addition, SK hynixs increased share in the DRAM market also shows that its competitiveness is still strong in the traditional storage chip market. This not only helps to consolidate its market position but also provides a solid foundation for its expansion in emerging technology areas.

05

Domestic News（April 23）

Advanced Photoresist Materials Research Center of the Education Ministry of China officially established at Fudan University

According to the news of the official WeChat account of the Institute of Microelectronics of Fudan University, the Advanced Photoresist Materials Research Center of the Education Ministry of China was officially inaugurated at Fudan University. The establishment of the Center is an important move of Fudan University to serve the major strategic needs of China and promote the in-depth integration of industry-university-research, aiming to tackle the “bottleneck” problems of high-end photoresist materials technology and help the IC industry of China to march toward the high end of the global value chain.

Jiang Yu, Vice President at Fudan University, emphasized that Fudan University established this research center by integrating its multi-disciplinary strengths in terms of IC, chemistry, macromolecules, materials, and other disciplines and it is an important practice of the university to fulfill the mission of "acting as a leader of building an education power and a pioneer of seeking independent innovation”. The center is expected to focus on the engineering problem of producing photoresist materials "from the laboratory to the production line", accelerate the independent and controllable production of high-end photoresist materials, and provide stable and reliable technology and material research supports for domestic chipmakers.

Professor Wu Qiang, Director of the Engineering Center, proposed the "Design - Infrastructure Co-optimization (DICO)" technology roadmap and shared key case studies. He said that the Center will uphold the concept of "open-up and collaboration”, work with the industry, universities and research institutes to promote technology transformation, and inject new momentum into the high-quality development of Chinas IC industry.

06

Domestic News（April 24）

Hua Hong Group’s investment fund exclusively invests in Dashu Technology

According to the official Wechat account of Dashu Technology Co., Ltd., Hua Hong Hong Xin Fund under Hua Hong Group exclusively completed the A-series investment in Dashu Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (Dashu Technology).

After this series of financing, Dashu Technology will speed up R&D, innovation and production capacity expansion, help improve the safety of the domestic IC industry supply chain, reduce reliance on imported components, and provide supports for semiconductor companies in the complex international situation to achieve stable production. In the future, the stable supply capacity of Dashu Technology will further provide better core components for domestic electron microscope makers, help the domestic industry to improve market competitiveness, help foreign semiconductor measurement and electron microscope companies in China to achieve localization procurement and improve service efficiency.

It is learned that Dashu Technology, established in 2018, has been exploring the field of semiconductor testing, R&D of core components of electron microscopes, and electronic beam equipment operation and maintenance. The companys product line covers key parts such as electronic gun, ion gun, detector, diaphragm and others, fully meet the needs of repair and maintenance of existing electron microscopes, and provide parts widely adapted to various electronic beam equipment.

Hua Hong Hong Xin Fund is one of the CVC industry chain fund series managed by Shanghai Growth Investment Co., Ltd.(Growth) and was jointly established by Growth and Hua Hong Group, leader of Chinas semiconductor wafer manufacturer. At present, the Fund has initiated two phases of financing, and the total subscribed capital exceeded RMB2bn. The Fund closely focuses on investment in the semiconductor industry chain and the upstream and downstream of the fields like chip, FEOL & BEOL equipment, materials, parts, EDA/IP, etc. Among them, the phase I Fund invested in 21 companies directly, helped two tech companies be listed at Shanghai STAR Market, with DPI of above 30%; the phase II Fund was also registered at the end of 2024 and started investment officially.

07

Domestic News（April 25）

YMTC’s parent company secures new funding

Recently, Changjiang Storage Technology Holdings Co., Ltd (Chang Kong Group) completed an important series of financing, with valuation up to RMB161.616bn. The total capital increase in this series of financing was approximately RMB9.42bn, of which Wuhu Wenming Quan Hong Investment Management Partnership, a subsidiary of Hebei Yangyuan Zhihui Beverage Co., Ltd., contributed RMB1.6bn and obtained 0.99% of the stock of Chang Kong Group. In addition, Chang Kong Group attracted a total of 15 investment institutions, including financial asset investment units of Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Bank of China.

Chang Kong Group is the parent company of YMTC, XMC and other companies. YMTC, as a leading domestic storage chipmaker, has been engaged in R&D and production of 3D NAND flash memory since its establishment in 2016. Its self-developed "Xtacking" architecture boasts faster IO speeds, higher storage density and higher quality reliability. This series of financing will further assist Chang Kong Group and its subsidiaries in the development of technology, capacity expansion and market expansion.

After this series of financing, the number of shareholders of Chang Kong Group increased from 7 to 23, and its shareholding structure became more diversified. Apart from the financial institutions above, a number of PE funds and industrial investment funds also participated in the financing. The diversified equity structure will help Chang Hong Group gain more supports from the capital markets and spread risks.