Tag - chipmakers

 
 

CHIPMAKERS

Choi Seung-ho, head of the Samsung Electronics union, Yeo Myung-koo, head of the People Team under Samsung’s Device Solutions division and the company’s chief management negotiator, and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon pose for photographs after reaching tentative pay deal in Suwon, South Korea, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2026
Samsung reaches 11th-hour deal with union to avoid strike
The truce averts what could have been a damaging strike for Samsung and the tech industry.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. Japan plans to create industry clusters in 10 regions as a key component of its regional future strategy.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2026
Japan plans industry clusters in 10 regions
The draft plan names the Tohoku region a green transformation center candidate, citing the presence of many nuclear and renewable-energy power sources.
The U.S.-China rivalry is increasingly centered on semiconductor and rare-earth chokepoints as Japan tries to revive its chip industry and secure a strategically vital role in global supply chains.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 18, 2026
Semiconductor chokepoints define U.S.-China rivalry
Two chokepoints now stand out: advanced semiconductors for China and rare-earth minerals for the United States.
The components of a Kioxia solid-state drive. Shares are up more than 300% this year for the Tokyo-based company.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2026
Kioxia shares awash in buy orders after AI-driven profit surge
The Tokyo-based company said it expects to earn an operating profit of ¥1.3 trillion during the June quarter, above the record profit it earned for the full year ended March.
Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung Electronics union, speaks after a mediation session at the National Labor Relations Commission in Sejong, South Korea, on May 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2026
Samsung and its South Korean union resume pay talks as strike risks loom
South Korean government officials have voiced concerns that a strike could pose significant risk to economic growth, exports and financial markets.
Members of Samsung Electronics' labor union chant during a protest against the company's compensation levels, in front of a Samsung semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on April 23.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2026
Samsung and labor union to meet in ‘last chance’ to avert strike
Management and the union representatives at the world’s biggest memory chipmaker will meet Monday for the talks on wages and compensation.
A Kioxia semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Kioxia prepares U.S. shares after riding AI boom to big profit
The Tokyo-based firm’s meteoric rise encapsulates the booming demand for memory as hyperscalers rush to build AI infrastructure.
Samsung, whose operating profit soared 48-fold in the March quarter, is projected to surpass Apple and Alphabet to rank second only to Nvidia among the world’s most profitable tech companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2026
South Korea roils market by floating ‘citizen dividend’ from AI gains
The benchmark Kospi sank as much as 5.1%, then pared losses after the influential policy adviser clarified he wanted to tap “excess tax revenue” generated from the AI boom.
The semiconductor industry and related electronics sector together account for around 17% of Taiwan’s economy.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 7, 2026
Hormuz crisis shows gaps in Taiwan’s high-tech ‘silicon shield’
The factors that make Taiwan an economic powerhouse — its successful technology industry and artificial intelligence-driven chipmaking — are also the ones making it vulnerable.
The Nvidia logo and a Neura humanoid robot at the Hannover Messe 2026 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 20. Nvidia’s grip on the AI processor market is seen as increasingly under threat from other chipmakers as well as its biggest customers.
BUSINESS
May 6, 2026
Nvidia is facing more competition and it’s spooking investors
Nvidia’s grip on the AI processor market is seen as increasingly under threat from other chipmakers as well as its biggest customers.
People walk past a large electronic screen showing the Samsung logo at a train station in Seoul on April 30.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 6, 2026
Samsung hits $1 trillion valuation, joining TSMC in elite club
Booming demand for chips used in artificial intelligence saw the world’s largest memory maker’s stock more than quadruple over the past year.
The Nvidia logo and a Neura humanoid robot at the Dassault Systems SE booth at the Hannover Messe 2026 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 20
BUSINESS
May 3, 2026
Nvidia’s push into physical AI sparks rally in Asian partners
Nvidia-induced demand is shaping stock performance across Asia’s technology supply chain.
Applied Materials, which has significant business supplying China, is among those believed to ​have received a letter from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2026
U.S. orders chip equipment companies to halt some shipments to China’s Hua Hong
The move is the latest U.S. action to slow China’s development of advanced chips, two people familiar with the matter said.
Chen Li-ming, a former Tokyo Electron employee, arrives at the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court for a verdict in a trade secrets case involving Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan unit, in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2026
Former Tokyo Electron staff gets decade in jail for TSMC breach
Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court also handed out jail sentences on four others and fined Tokyo Electron’s local unit.
A stock ticker displays market information inside the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 20.  Indonesia, along with India and the Philippines, has seen strained trade balances and tumbling stocks as a result of higher oil prices.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 27, 2026
AI boom drowns out war fears to fuel Asia’s great market divide
Investors are punishing economies exposed to higher energy costs while looking past near-term risks to gain exposure to industries seen as critical to future growth.
A container ship is seen at the port in Lianyungang, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 27, 2026
Under cover of trade truce with Trump, China expands economic pressure toolkit
Beijing is punishing those who shift supply chains from China, tightening rare ​earth licensing, banning foreign AI and cybersecurity tech and weighing curbs on its solar gear.
Denso’s signboard outside its office in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2026
Denso mulls withdrawing acquisition offer for chipmaker Rohm
Denso, part of the Toyota Motor group, is finding it difficult to gain support from Rohm for the acquisition offer, sources said.
Denso’s office in Tokyo in March
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2026
Denso to withdraw proposal to take over Rohm, report says
Denso was unable to get Rohm’s support for the acquisition, the Nikkei daily reported.
Members of the Samsung Electronics labor union hold signs reading "Change it to be transparent!" as they stage a mass rally demanding the removal of a cap on performance bonuses, outside the company's foundry and semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2026
Samsung workers protest over huge pay gap with SK Hynix amid AI chip boom
Protesters, which union organizers put at 40,000, plan to strike for 18 days from May 21 if their demands are not met.
An interactive display at the iRootech Technology Co. offices in Guangzhou, China, on April 15. There is growing appetite in the U.S. Congress for restricting the flow of AI technology to China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 23, 2026
AI export control measures aimed at China gain steam in U.S. House
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee is seeking to close what lawmakers see as loopholes allowing China to access powerful U.S. technology including Nvidia chips.

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