
China's top chip tool maker Naura sees revenue surge amid US trade tensions
Naura Technology Group, China's top chip equipment maker, said it expects a sharp rise in revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2025, after reporting strong performance in 2024, highlighting the country's progress towards semiconductor self-sufficiency.
Advertisement
The Beijing-based company, a key equipment supplier for the domestic chip industry, said in a corporate filing on Tuesday that final figures for the first three months of 2025 could see revenue up by as much as 51 per cent year on year to 8.98 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion). Net profit is expected to rise as much as 53 per cent to 1.74 billion yuan.
It teased the quarterly numbers after reporting a 44.2 per cent surge in net profit in 2024 to 5.6 billion yuan. Revenue was up 35.1 per cent year on year to 29.8 billion yuan, marking the third consecutive year of growth for the Shenzhen-listed firm.
Naura attributed its strong performance to technological breakthroughs in new etching and deposition products, which helped boost revenue and market share.
The company's growth comes as China intensifies efforts to reduce reliance on US technologies and chip tool providers such as California-based Lam Research and Applied Materials.
Advertisement
Naura recently climbed two spots in a global ranking of semiconductor equipment suppliers, coming in sixth by revenue for 2024, according to a report from Chinese research firm CINNO. It is the only Chinese company among the world's top 10 chip tool vendors.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Apple's AI takes back seat to design, iPad revamp at WWDC event
Apple unveiled the most sweeping software redesign in its history, aiming to make the company's device line-up more cohesive and useful, even while doing little to upgrade its struggling artificial intelligence platform. The new interface, called Liquid Glass, was introduced Monday at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The approach uses transparent menus and a glassy look, transforming the software on the company's iPhone, iPad, Mac, TV platform, smartwatches and Vision Pro headset. The changes come as part of iOS 26, watchOS 26 and visionOS 26, which have been rebranded to mark the coming year rather than a version number. Apple also retooled its iPad software to make the device feel more like a Mac, something customers have long requested. Liquid Glass is meant to provide a more uniform experience for Apple's operating systems, but the event lacked the kind of breakthroughs that investors have been clamouring for. While tech peers like Alphabet and OpenAI continue to unveil artificial intelligence advancements, the Cupertino, California-based company has been less focused on its AI platform, Apple Intelligence. Attendees watch a presentation during the annual WWDC at Apple Park, the corporate headquarters of Apple, in Cupertino, California on Monday. Photo: AFP The biggest AI announcement was the company confirming plans to open the Apple Intelligence foundation models to developers. That will allow app creators to write their own software and features using the underlying Apple Intelligence technology. The company also rolled out live call translation and the ability to merge two existing emojis into a new image in Apple's Genmoji feature.


Asia Times
3 hours ago
- Asia Times
US-China: what's really at stake in London
A high-stakes showdown is unfolding this week in London—far from the manufacturing plants of Shenzhen or the trading floors of Wall Street, yet central to the global economic order. Senior US and Chinese officials will hold a second day of talks today (Tuesday) aimed at de-escalating the most consequential economic rivalry of our time. After Monday's first day of talks, US President Donald Trump said, 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy…I'm only getting good reports.' China is negotiating for looser US tech controls while the US wants China to ease limits on rare earth mineral exports. But for investors watching from Singapore to Silicon Valley, these meetings aren't just about tariffs. They're about who writes the rules of the 21st-century global economy. Both sides are seeking to revive the Geneva framework established last month—an agreement that temporarily eased a volatile tariff standoff by rolling back US import duties on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and slashing Chinese tariffs from 125% to 10%. The compromise was a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. Since then, fiery accusations of non-compliance have resumed. Washington says Beijing is dragging its feet on critical mineral exports. Beijing accuses the US of doubling down on tech restrictions, particularly on semiconductors and AI. The talks in London are significant because the stakes have never been higher. China and the US are no longer just competing powers—they are operating two fundamentally divergent systems, each trying to shape the global economic architecture in its own image. This is a full-spectrum competition that spans data flows, digital currencies, energy policy, national security, and ideology. Investors ignore this at their peril. To understand the gravity of this week's negotiations, you have to look beyond the tariff tables and see the wider trajectory. Under Trump, the US is doubling down on strategic protectionism. The re-imposition of sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April was not an isolated action—it was the next phase in a broader effort to reshape American economic exposure. China, under President Xi Jinping, is responding in kind by accelerating self-reliance campaigns, boosting its military-industrial complex and tightening control over capital flows and foreign technology. The two economic giants are hurtling toward a split system of parallel supply chains, competing standards, rival digital currencies and mutually exclusive rules for artificial intelligence. The old model—interdependence through globalization—is unraveling in real time. From a market perspective, this fracturing introduces volatility but also extraordinary opportunity. Strategic sectors are being rapidly repriced. Defense tech, AI, cybersecurity, semiconductor manufacturing and rare earths have all emerged as proxies in this economic power contest. Recent capital flows tell the story: US and European investors are ramping up exposure to domestic chip production, while China is injecting vast state funding into its own tech champions and weaponizing industrial policy. Just last week, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a new 500 billion yuan (US$69 billion) investment initiative focused on dual-use technologies—those with both civilian and military applications. Simultaneously, the US Commerce Department expanded its export restrictions to cover quantum computing components and AI training data sets. The message from both sides is unmistakable: dominance in tomorrow's tech is national security today. The London talks, then, a theater where the future is being negotiated—or not. With US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer facing off against China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, these are the most senior discussions since the Geneva reset. Both capitals know what's at stake, and neither wants to look like it's blinking. Investors are caught in a strange double bind: exposed to the risks of fragmentation, but positioned to benefit from the rush to secure the commanding heights of the future economy. That's why the London talks are being watched as closely in corporate boardrooms as in diplomatic circles. If the talks succeed in holding the Geneva line, it could stabilize sentiment and breathe life into cross-border dealmaking that's been paralyzed by policy uncertainty. If they fail—and signs point to fundamental misalignments in trust and expectation—then the decoupling will accelerate. Supply chains shift faster, capital reallocates at scale and inflation risks in key inputs like semiconductors and rare earths will spike again. Investors will need to think in terms of dual portfolios: one optimized for the Western bloc, the other for the Chinese sphere of influence. However, there is another, deeper implication that should not be overlooked. The current rivalry is not just about GDP or tech leadership; it's about two economic visions vying for legitimacy. One is anchored in democratic capitalism, now reasserting control over trade and industrial policy after decades of liberalization. The other is a centralized, state-driven model that promises order, speed and resilience. This isn't the Cold War redux, it's something newer, more fluid—and potentially longer-lasting. That's why framing these talks purely as tariff negotiations misses the point. This is about system design and every conversation about chips, data or critical minerals is, in reality, a conversation about who gets to define economic power in the coming decades. Some investors have already begun adjusting to this reality. Sovereign wealth funds are shifting long-term allocations away from passive indices and toward strategic sectors. Venture capital is increasingly split along ideological lines. Private equity is retreating from cross-border deals in politically sensitive industries. The smart capital knows this is the macro megatrend. What London offers this week is a readout not just of policy positions but of political will. Are the world's two largest economies capable of coexisting with guardrails, or are we headed toward a fully bipolar economic order? Markets have always priced in risk. But this is something more fundamental. This is about pricing in rival worldviews. And the London talks are where the next chapter begins.


RTHK
4 hours ago
- RTHK
US stocks end mostly up as markets eye trade talks
US stocks end mostly up as markets eye trade talks US stocks barely moved, with the Dow down 0.15 percent, the S&P 500 up 0.08 percent, and the Nasdaq up 0.30 percent. File photo: AFP Wall Street stocks edged higher on Monday as US and Chinese representatives held high-stakes trade talks and markets looked ahead to key economic data. Trade representatives for the world's two biggest economies plan a second day of talks on Tuesday following an opening round on Monday. Although there were no breakthroughs, the market has welcomed the negotiations. "There's hopes that they're inching closer to some sort of a deal," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished flat at 42,761. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.1 percent to 6,005, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent at 19,591. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the US delegation, while China's team included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. Among individual companies, Apple fell 1.2 percent after company executives emphasised its artificial intelligence efforts at the tech giant's annual developers conference, including allowing app makers to directly access a device's AI capabilities. Apple has lagged some rivals in introducing AI-advancing updates to its Siri voice assistant and other programs. Warner Brothers Discovery finished down 3 percent after unveiling a plan to split itself into two companies to better position for the streaming era. The entertainment giant will break itself into two publicly traded companies: one covering "Streaming & Studios" and the other "Global Networks." The shift, designed to enable each venture to "maximize its potential," is expected to be completed by mid-2026, the company said. This week's agenda includes releases on consumer and producer prices, and key benchmarks on inflation. (AFP)