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☆ Memory-Chip Makers Say Recovery Is in Sight After Long Slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Samsung Electronics says demand for memory chips is expected to gradually recover in the second half of the year. Photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg NewsThe world’s top memory-chip makers, struggling with the deepest industry downturn in more than a decade, say the worst may soon be over as customers come back and cuts in production and investment help counter a supply glut. After reporting a $3.4 billion operating loss in the first quarter in its semiconductor division, Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that demand for memory chips was expected to gradually recover in the second half of the year after a prolonged slide.

A global downturn in semiconductor demand amid an economic slowdown and weak customer spending sent chip prices plummeting in the first quarter. For the current quarter, Samsung said it expected limited demand recovery for memory chips as major data centre firms invested more conservatively in servers. Revenue fell 18% to 63.7 trillion won. The South Korean tech giant's chip division - normally its most reliable cash cow - reported a 4.58 trillion won loss compared to a 8.45 trillion won profit a year earlier. As a result, smartphone, personal computer and server companies have run down inventories, causing chip prices to plunge by about 70% over the previous nine months.

☆ Korea’s Stock Market Shines Even as Economy Dims
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Frances Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Inside a dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on April 25. Photo: yonhap/ShutterstockShould a slowing economy lead to a weak stock market? Not judging by the performance of South Korea’s benchmark index this year. The country’s stock market is the best performer in Asia and one of the top indexes in the world so far this year. The Kospi Composite Index has risen more than 11% since Jan. 1, fueled by a rally in the shares of big technology companies like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., which together account for a fifth of the index.

☆ Why Korea Is Beating Other Asian Stock Markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Frances Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

South Korea’s stock market is the best performer in Asia and one of the top indexes in the world so far this year. Photo: yonhap/ShutterstockShould a slowing economy lead to a weak stock market? Not judging by the performance of South Korea’s benchmark index this year. The country’s stock market is the best performer in Asia and one of the top indexes in the world so far this year. The Kospi Composite Index has risen more than 11% since Jan. 1, fueled by a rally in the shares of big technology companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., which together account for a fifth of the index.

The firm's loss widened as a global economic slowdown worsened a memory chip glut during the first quarter, prompting sluggish demand and falling prices, SK Hynix said. However, "we expect revenue to rebound in the second quarter after bottoming out in the first, driven by a gradual increase in sales volume," SK Hynix said. Such cuts will reduce inventory across the industry and improve market conditions from the current quarter, SK Hynix said. The loss is the biggest since SK Group acquired Hynix in 2012, and is the second in a row after the fourth quarter's 1.9 trillion won loss. SK Hynix shares traded up 2.1% versus a 0.2% decline in the wider market (.KS11), after the firm flagged a market rebound.

April 21 (Reuters) - Computer-memory company Netlist Inc (NLST.PK) convinced a federal jury in Texas on Friday to award it more than $303 million for Samsung Electronics Co's (005930.KS) infringement of several patents related to improvements in data processing. Irvine, California-based Netlist sued Samsung in 2021, alleging Samsung memory products used in cloud-computing servers and other data-intensive technology infringe its patents. A Netlist attorney told the jury that Samsung took its patented module technology after the companies had collaborated on another project, according to a court transcript. Samsung had argued that the patents were invalid and that its technology worked in a different way than Netlist's inventions. The case is Netlist Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No.

☆ Intel to work with Arm on chip manufacturing compatibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) on Wednesday said its chip contract manufacturing division will work with U.K.-based chip designer Arm Ltd to ensure that mobile phone chips and other products that use Arm's technology can be made in Intel's factories. Intel's turnaround strategy hinges in part on opening up its factories to other chip companies, particularly those in mobile phones. It has said firms such as Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) are planning to use its factories for future chip designs. For its part, Arm, owned by Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) and which plans to go public later this year, is a major supplier of intellectual property to many chip companies, especially in mobile phones. Arm has partnerships with major chip contract manufacturers in place to ensure that its designs will work well on their manufacturing processes.

☆ Wall Street ends mixed with inflation data, earnings on tap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The bellwether S&P 500 ended the session nominally higher. Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, six ended the session higher, led by industrials (.SPLRCI). "When the Fed repeats time after time what their priorities are and what they’re going to do, they’re going to do it." As of Friday, analysts expected aggregate S&P 500 earnings down 5.2% year-on-year, a stark reversal from the 1.4% annual growth expected at the beginning of the quarter, according to Refinitiv. The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 50 new highs and 155 new lows.

☆ Wall St fluctuates as investors weigh jobs report, earnings on tap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"There’s clearly a disconnect between what the Fed is telling us they’re going to do and what the market believes the Fed is going to do," Pursche added. "When the Fed repeats time after time what their priorities are and what they’re going to do, they’re going to do it." As of Friday, analysts now expect aggregate S&P 500 earnings down 5.2% year-on-year, a stark reversal from the 1.4% annual growth expected at the beginning of the quarter, according to Refinitiv. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, communication services (.SPLRCL) and technology (.SPLRCT) suffered the largest percentage losses. The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 131 new lows.

Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) gained 3.3% after the financial broker on Thursday disclosed upbeat new client assets inflow in March. Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD.N) jumped 5.7% after a report that Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) held preliminary talks with the company about a possible acquisition of the shale oil producer. Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) surged 7.9% and 8.9%, respectively, on Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's (005930.KS) plans to cut chip production. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.07-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 30 new highs and 108 new lows.

"One has to step back and look at a bigger picture than just these week-to-week market battles over data. Several economic indicators last week, including weak private payrolls and job openings data, had initially raised hopes of a pause to the market-punishing rate hikes amid the recent banking sector turmoil. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.48-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and 1.74-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 57 new lows. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"One has to step back and look at a bigger picture than just these week-to-week market battles over data. ET, Dow e-minis were down 122 points, or 0.36%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 21.5 points, or 0.52%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 107.75 points, or 0.82%. Shares of regional banks slipped after Fed data on Friday showed overall credit from U.S. banks declined by a record of more than $120 billion in the latest week, on a nonseasonally adjusted basis. Semiconductor stocks such as Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) gained 5.5% and 4.7%, respectively, following Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's (005930.KS) plans to cut chip production. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Varun H K and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TSMC talking to US about CHIPS Act 'guidance' amid subsidy concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, April 10 (Reuters) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) said on Monday it is communicating with Washington about its "guidance" for a law designed to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing that has sparked concerns about subsidy criteria. "We can confirm that we are communicating with the U.S. government about the CHIPS ACT guidance," TSMC, the world's leading contract chipmaker, said in a short emailed statement. Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters on Monday that TSMC was specifically talking to the United States about the details of the subsidies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) is investing $40 billion in a new plant in the western U.S. state of Arizona, supporting Washington's plans for more chip-making at home. The subsidies would come from a $52 billion pool of research and manufacturing funds earmarked under the CHIPS Act.

☆ Samsung Forecasts Worst Profit in Over a Decade as Tech Slump Hits Memory Chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Samsung’s earnings forecast for the first quarter were far below market projections. SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. said it expects a steep fall in its first-quarter profit, dropping to levels last seen during the financial crisis as an extended slump in the tech sector hits its memory-chip business hard. Samsung said Friday that its operating profit for the January-March quarter was expected to have dropped by around 95.8% from the prior year to 600 billion won, or roughly $455 million, in what would be the smallest quarterly operating profit since 2009. Revenue for the three-month period is expected to drop by 19% from a year earlier to 63 trillion won.

Samsung estimated its operating profit fell to 600 billion won ($455.5 million) in January-March, from 14.12 trillion won a year earlier, in a short preliminary earnings statement. The production cut signal is unusually strong for Samsung, which previously said it would make small adjustments like pauses for refurbishing production lines but not a full-blown cut. The first-quarter profit fell short of a 873 billion won Refinitiv SmartEstimate, weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. It was the lowest since a 590 billion won profit in the first quarter of 2009, according to company data. Revenue likely fell 19% from the same period a year earlier to 63 trillion won, Samsung said.

☆ Samsung quarterly profit set to hit 14-year low amid chip glut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Samsung, the world's biggest maker of memory chips, TVs and smartphones as of 2022, is a bellwether for global consumption trends. Operating profit likely fell to 1.08 trillion won in the quarter ended March 31, according to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate from 27 analysts, weighted toward those who are more consistently accurate. That is lowest since a 590 billion won profit in the first quarter of 2009, according to company data, and compares with an operating profit of 14.12 trillion won last year. In February, Samsung Electronics said it planned to borrow 20 trillion won from unit Samsung Display to use as operational funds until August 2025. Operating profit at Samsung's mobile business likely fell by 9% to 3.46 trillion won in the March quarter, an average of seven analyst estimates showed.

☆ Japan aims to treble sales of domestically made microchips by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, April 3 (Reuters) - Japan's industry ministry said on Monday it aimed to treble sales of semiconductors made in Japan to 15 trillion yen ($112.55 billion) by 2030 as Tokyo strives to boost domestic microchip production following global supply chain snarls. Japan sees microchips as strategic products to strengthen its economic security and is providing hefty subsidies to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) and others to build plants tin o Japan or have them expand existing facilities. The ministry plans to put the sales target in Japan's semiconductor and digital industry strategy, which will be updated by the middle of the year. Japan has seen its share in the global microchip market tumble from 50% in the late 1980s to around 10%, outperformed by nimbler rivals with deep pockets such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS). ($1 = 133.2700 yen)Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: The Japanese chipmaking equipment manufacturers navigating export curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some of Japan's leading manufacturers of tools used to make semiconductors. In October-December, its chip equipment sales in China fell 22.3% from a year earlier to 102.7 billion yen, accounting for 22.4% of its total chip equipment sales in the quarter. SCREEN HOLDINGS CO LTD (7735.T)Screen is the world's largest manufacturer of equipment used to clean silicon wafers. The company expects shipments to China to make up 20% of chipmaking equipment sales of 375 billion yen for the year to March. About 40% of sales from its lithography machines business, which combines semiconductor lithography and flat panel display lithography equipment, is generated in China.

☆ Taiwan says US officials have visited to discuss concerns about chip subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-Hua and the Speaker of the Czech Republic parliament Marketa Pekarova Adamova attend a Taiwan-Czech Joint Business Council Meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, March 27, 2023. REUTERS/I-Hwa ChengTAIPEI, March 31 (Reuters) - The United States has sent officials to Taiwan to listen to concerns in the chip industry about the criteria for new U.S. semiconductor subsidies, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Friday. The criteria are worrying companies like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS), South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday, a concern shared by the world's leading contract chipmaker in Taiwan, TSMC (2330.TW). "The U.S. side has sent relevant officials to Taiwan to listen to the industry's opinions, to collect their views," she added, without giving details. "Following on, if the industry needs the government to help communicate with the United States, the Economy Ministry will certainly assist with communication," Wang said.

REUTERS/Nacho DoceTOKYO/SEOUL, March 31 (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is considering setting up a chip test line in Japan, five people said, to bolster its advanced packaging business and forge closer ties with Japanese makers of semiconductor equipment and materials. It would be the first such test line in Japan for Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips. Companies are racing to develop advanced packaging techniques, which involve placing chips with different functions into a single package, to enhance overall capabilities and limit the added cost of more advanced chips. The test line would involve the so-called back-end process of chipmaking, according to the five people, which refers to a process in which semiconductors are cut and assembled into products. Samsung last year set up an advanced packaging team in South Korea.

☆ US chip subsidy criteria could be a 'burden', says South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Samsung is building a chip plant in Texas that could cost over $25 billion and has said it is reviewing the guidelines. However, funding applications may require detailed cost structure information as well as projected wafer yields, utilisation rates and price changes, which three Korean chip sources told Reuters was akin to revealing corporate strategy. The United States' subsidy provisions should reflect the opinions of the government and companies of South Korea so they do not impose any undue burden on those companies, South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a statement on Thursday. Ahn's comment came from a meeting with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai in South Korea, a leading chipmaking country and major investor in the U.S. chip sector. The U.S. Department of Commerce will accept subsidy applications for leading-edge chip facilities from March 31, and for current-generation, mature-node and back-end production facilities from June 26.

☆ Synopsys spreads AI throughout its chip design tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Synopsys first released an AI tool for one part of the chip design process three years ago, and with customers like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and ST Microelectronics (STM.DE) using the system. The tools Synopsys released Wednesday at its annual user conference in Santa Clara, California, spread much further across the chip design process. Synopsys is in a race with Cadence Design Systems (CDNS.O), its largest competitor, to add AI to chip design software. While some of the Synopsys tools released Wednesday are catching up to Cadence, Karl Freund, principal analyst with Cambrian AI research, said Synopsys is ahead, with more than 100 chips by customers using its AI tools coming to market. "I think they'll probably be at 1,000 (completed chip designs) by the end of the year."

☆ Group of Nanoco shareholders ask top bosses to step down over Samsung settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A group of shareholders of Nanoco Group Plc (NANON.L) have asked two top bosses to step down after alleging that the company gave misleading information related to settlement prospects in a litigation with Samsung Electronics Co (005930.KS). In February, Samsung Electronics had agreed to pay $150 million to Nanoco to settle patent lawsuits over technology used in Samsung's LED televisions. "Nanoco had settled on terms substantially less favourable than its prior statements had led shareholders to believe, and on less favourable terms than our clients understand had been previously offered by Samsung," the shareholder letter stated. The shareholders have identified the replacements for the CEO and CFO, the letter stated. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Samsung wins jury trial in 'S10' trademark lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Blake Brittain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: A Samsung employee poses with the new Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone at a press event in London, Britain February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd convinced a Los Angeles federal jury on Friday that its Galaxy S10 phones do not violate the trademark rights of a talent-management agency that also uses the “S10” name. S10 Entertainment, which manages the pop singers Anitta and Normani, said it began using the S10 name in 2017. “As a result of confusion between Samsung’s S10 phone line and S10 Entertainment’s S10 mark, the value and goodwill of S10 Entertainment’s Instagram and social media footprint has been severely diminished,” the lawsuit said. The case is S10 Entertainment & Media LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No.

☆ Analysis: Chinese suppliers race to Vietnam as COVID let-up opens escape route from Sino-U.S. trade war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Adding impetus to the move is the increasing cost of labour in China, expanding U.S. restrictions on high-tech-related trade with China, and tit-for-tat tariffs from a Sino-U.S. trade war that triggered a past wave of Chinese investment in Vietnam. "Enquiries from Chinese firms about manufacturing investment in Vietnam grew exponentially in the last quarter of last year," said Michael Chan, senior director of leasing at industrial real estate specialist BW Industrial Development. "Chinese investment has also increased remarkably," he said. Chinese firms also experience longer times to obtain staff visas and work permits, said Filippo Bortoletti, who heads the Vietnamese unit of investment consultancy Dezan Shira. "Chinese companies move here mostly to serve their clients who moved earlier," said BW Industrial Development's Chan.

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