Despite global economic headwinds, some makers in the sub-sector are continuing to perform well. Taiwan has been steadily moving into specialty chemicals in a bid to move up the global industry value chain. Specialty chemicals are sold based on their function or performance instead of composition. They often are designed to impact one specific aspect…
Every year new consumer electronic products are introduced to the market. The driving force behind them is advanced semiconductor technology that can make product design more powerful and longer lasting. Founded in 1988, Cadence is the only electronic design automation (EDA) company that offers seamless design flow solutions for integrated circuits (ICs), packages and circuit…
Global and local firms are making new investments in semiconductor fabs in Taiwan. Taiwan is holding its own as a hub for semiconductor manufacturing, attracting steady new investment from chipmakers and other firms in the industry’s supply chain. The island manufactures about 25-30% of integrated circuits (ICs) globally and is home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing…
IP violations remain a serious problem in Taiwan’s ultra-competitive chip-making market. In recent years, trade-secret theft has become increasingly common in Taiwan’s highly competitive semiconductor industry, one of the world’s largest by output value and a bedrock of the island’s economy. The perpetrators have usually been Chinese companies seeking to close the technology gap with…
Artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrency all offer avenues for growth as global demand eases for mobile devices. Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturer are looking for new growth drivers as the global market for mobile devices cools. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and virtual currencies appear to be offering abundant opportunities. “We’re seeing a rapid diversification…
While Taiwan’s semiconductor industry continues to grow, China poses a formidable long-term challenge. For years, industry analysts have cautioned that Chinese competitors in the semiconductor sector would steadily erode the technology advantages of Taiwanese chipmakers, ultimately wooing away many of their customers with lower prices. Despite China’s rapid progress in the semiconductor sector in recent…
Restrictions on Chinese investment in the semiconductor sector have failed to stymie budding ties among chipmakers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. In January, Powertech Technology announced it would annul a share agreement with Tsinghua Unigroup that would have given the Chinese chipmaker a 25% stake in one of Taiwan’s top semiconductor packaging and…
Allowing Chinese investment in the sector could give Beijing immoderate influence over Taiwan’s most prized industry, yet shunning it could undermine competitiveness. The semiconductor sector is one of the last areas of the global consumer electronics supply chain where Taiwanese firms retain an edge over their Chinese competitors. Taiwanese integrated circuit (IC) makers have…
Hsinchu-based fabless semiconductor firm Mediatek Inc. announced that it will acquire power management chipmaker Richtek Technology Corp. for some NT$28 billion (US$857 million) in cash. According to a statement issued by company chairman Tsai Ming-kai, the move is in response to a spate of mergers and acquisitions that signals “the semiconductor industry is consolidating in…
The key question is how long can Taiwan’s IC industry hold off its Chinese competitors? Taiwan’s semiconductor sector faces a formidable challenge from China as Beijing moves aggressively to build homegrown chip-making giants. The Chinese government announced a US$20 billion fund last year for that task, and says it will invest a total of US$161…
