Latest news with #ChengTing-Fang
Nikkei Asia
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Nikkei Asia
TSMC's trade secrets and Trump's chip tariffs
Hi everyone! This is Cheng Ting-Fang, your #techAsia host this week, waving hello from Taipei! I just returned from a brief trip to Tokyo, where I enjoyed fresh sashimi and sizzling barbecue. The summer heat was scorching and as intense as Taiwan's tropical humidity. It's been years since I have seen Tokyo through a tourist's eyes and this time a few things stood out. On ordinary weekdays, children are a rare sight in the city and on trains. And outside of izakayas and tourist-frequented restaurants, Japan's dining spots are remarkably quiet. But this has been an eventful summer, with the U.S. announcing new tariff rates for most countries. Upcoming tariffs of 100% on foreign-made semiconductors are creating further uncertainties for the second half of 2025. Several tech industry executives told me they have modest expectations for the remainder of the year - traditionally a peak season for many sectors. In fact, many would consider it a best-case scenario if they can simply match the revenue and profit levels of 2024. This week, Taiwan's chip sector also came under the spotlight after Nikkei Asia exclusively reported that TSMC had taken legal action against several former employees for attempting to illicitly obtain sensitive information on 2-nanometer chip technology. The story was quickly picked up by major international and local outlets, including Bloomberg, the Financial Times, Reuters and CNBC. This marks the first-ever case involving national core sensitive technologies to be investigated under Taiwan's National Security Act, which was enacted in 2022 to protect its flagship chip industry from foreign threats. The incident has sparked discussions about how trade secrets are protected. TSMC is well known for having strong systems to guard its proprietary information. One chip industry contact shared a story on this that I always remember: "If you accidentally drive the wrong way in a parking lot for just three to five seconds, you and your managers will get an email alert right away telling you you're going in the wrong direction." However, most tech industry executives agree that replicating advanced chip manufacturing, especially processes like TSMC's cutting-edge 2-nanometer tech, is far from simple. The production lines require thousands of intricate steps, precise fine-tuning of tools and chemicals and, crucially, the accumulated expertise of thousands of skilled engineers. Stealing documents or testing data is nowhere near enough to recreate such complexity. It's similar to the challenge for any newcomer to build extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines produced by ASML, the maker of the world's most advanced chipmaking tools, as Nikkei Asia earlier reported. I am reminded of an interesting conversation I once had with Jos Benschop, executive vice president at ASML, during a visit to the company's headquarters in Veldhoven in the Netherlands. When asked how easy it would be to copy such machines, Benschop described the know-how behind these tools as an iceberg. "What you see is the tip of the iceberg. You might think, 'Okay, I can make the same iceberg,' but 90% of it is under the water, and you can't see it." Trade secrets and national security Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has fired several employees after detecting unauthorized activities aimed at illicitly obtaining critical information about its 2-nanometer technology and transferring it to external parties, according to exclusive reporting by Nikkei Asia's Cheng Ting-Fang. TSMC confirmed to Nikkei Asia that it discovered the potential trade secret leaks and proactively initiated legal action against those involved. Taiwanese prosecutors have questioned and searched the residences of several personnel suspected of involvement in the case, detaining three individuals. But the investigation is still ongoing to determine the extent and flow of the trade secret leaks. Major TSMC supplier Tokyo Electron later confirmed it had also fired an employee over supsecetd involvement in the case. The incident has drawn global and local attention, as TSMC's 2-nm tech is currently the world's most advanced chip production node, essential for next-generation processors in computers, smartphones and AI. It is set to enter mass production later this year. The suspected trade secret leaks also come amid a growing global chip race, with major economies pushing to onshore critical semiconductor manufacturing. A hard sell Beijing's effort to consolidate the country's fragmented semiconductor sector into a few national champions is facing major obstacles, write the Financial Times' Eleanor Olcott and Haohsiang Ko. At the start of the year, Beijing sought to create a state-backed chip manufacturing equipment giant by merging several companies, in a bid to create a domestic rival to leading U.S. and European groups. But the talks have stalled due to disagreements over ownership and valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. Although 26 semiconductor deals have been announced in 2025 -- including a merger between CPU designer Hygon and supercomputer maker Sugon -- progress is limited. Experts argue that consolidation is key for building a self-sufficient domestic chip supply chain amid tough U.S. export controls, but many companies lack strong technology and integration risks are high. Many of the announced deals fail to proceed as buyers and sellers cannot settle on a price. There has also been limited progress in consolidating the highly fragmented fabrication industry, where overlapping projects have led to waste and oversupply. In the fast lane Chinese carmakers are ramping up efforts to replace products made by Nvidia and other foreign chip leaders in their increasingly competitive domestic auto market, Nikkei Asia's Cissy Zhou, Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li report. Not only have companies like Xpeng and Nio begun using self-developed chips to replace Nvidia's solutions, but many local chipmakers, such as Horizon Robotics, have also seen more Chinese automakers adopt their products. According to Nikkei Asia's analysis of government documents and industry interviews, at least 10 emerging and established Chinese chipmakers have identified the automotive market as their primary focus. China has made significant strides toward self-sufficiency in some types of automotive-related chips. For example, local supplies of power discretes and sensors have steadily increased, followed by growing capabilities in microcontroller chips. However, progress in more advanced areas such as driver-assistance and autonomous driving chips has been relatively slower. China's advancements could eventually impact the business of the market leaders in China. 100% on chips The latest shot in U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war is aimed at chips. Trump announced at a White House event on Wednesday that he will impose an "approximately 100%" tariff on chips and other semiconductor products, writes Nikkei Asia's Yifan Yu. Trump suggested, however, that companies making major investments in the U.S. could be exempt from that charge. The announcement came as Apple pledged to invest a further $100 billion in the U.S., in addition to the $500 billion it promised in February. The iPhone maker is also ramping up its domestic procurement, saying it intends to source 19 billion chips from a dozen states, including "tens of millions" of advanced chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in Arizona. Chinese automakers pull ahead in Australia's fiercely competitive market Welcome to the Tech Latest podcast. Hosted by our tech coverage veterans, Katey Creel and Shotaro Tani, every Tuesday we deliver the hottest trends and news from the sector. In this episode, Shotaro speaks with Australia correspondent Shaun Turton about how Chinese automakers are edging out local and legacy brands in Australia's notoriously tough car market by wielding scale, speed and cost advantages to consumers. Find us on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Voicy | YouTube | YouTube Music Suggested reads 1. Apple suppliers bet on tariff carve-out for India-made iPhones: sources (Nikkei Asia) 2. Trump official urges Asia to reject Europe's 'over-regulation' of AI (FT) 3. Taiwan's Foxconn sells Ohio EV facility to focus more on AI data centers (Nikkei Asia) 4. Nintendo profits rise on 6mn sales of new Switch 2 console (FT) 5. Ex-CEO of Indonesian aquaculture unicorn detained in fraud probe (Nikkei Asia) 6. Japan looks to virtual reality, AI to pass on A-bomb survivors' legacy (Nikkei Asia) 7. China summons Nvidia over 'serious security issues' with chips (FT) 8. Samsung's $16.5bn Tesla deal will test chipmaker's hopes for revival (FT) 9. Japan chipmaker Kioxia to weed out suppliers lax on cybersecurity (Nikkei Asia) 10. China's launches 2.2bn euro offer for German electronics retailer Ceconomy (FT)
Nikkei Asia
04-07-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Samsung's Texas blues and BYD's lead over Tesla
Hi everyone! This is Cheng Ting-Fang, your techAsia host, saying hello from Taipei! I just returned from a short trip to Hong Kong, where I attended a gala dinner and awards ceremony. I am excited to share some wonderful news with you: Nikkei Asia won the top prize in technology reporting from the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) -- a prestigious competition that places us alongside the biggest global news publications like Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. I vividly remember the journey that this award-winning coverage entailed. It was a lot of the hard work and collaboration with my incredible colleagues. One small anecdote I would like to share involves the subsea cable map we produced, tracing Chinese investment and involvement in undersea cables dating back to the 1990s. This project started with digging through decades-old Chinese government and telecom documents to identify every cable with Chinese participation. We then needed actual raw map data to allow our art team to visualize and illustrate these cables. At one point, the project was almost dead when we discovered that the map data would cost $20,000, far beyond our budget. But after discussing strategy with my colleagues, I nervously took on the role of procurement specialist and managed to negotiate the price down to about $800 for just the data we needed. Lauly Li, Shunsuke Tabeta, Tsubasa Suruga and I interviewed several Chinese and foreign executives in various locations to gain insight from within the subsea cable sector in China and Southeast Asia, perspectives rarely heard in global media. Another standout project was our mapping of China's electronics supply chain, highlighting the areas where the country has built competitive alternatives to global leaders. Looking back at the six years since Huawei was added to the U.S. Entity List, it's remarkable how much the global supply chain has shifted and how rapidly China's localization drive has taken off. The launch of that feature was not as smooth as we had hoped. It coincided with breaking news that Nissan and Honda were in merger talks, and faced a technical glitch that prevented our graphics from displaying properly for the first 50 hours the story was up. But once that was resolved, we received great feedback from the industry for the depth and detail of our reporting. The third story in the package looked at how China built a competitive advanced display industry previously dominated by Samsung. There is a saying in Taiwan that goes, "Eat sugarcane from the bottom up," which means each bite becomes sweeter than the last. And another familiar line sums up my feelings: "Every cloud has a silver lining." I want to express my deep gratitude to our art team, led by MinJung Kim and Michael Tsang, for transforming our raw research and reporting into clear and powerful graphics that our readers consistently find valuable. Special thanks also to Katherine Creel, our tech editor, and the entire Nikkei Asia editorial team for their endless support and collaboration in making these projects possible. Hong Kong has always brought back fond memories. I hadn't been back to the city since 2019, before COVID, and in some ways it felt like stepping into a time capsule, especially in terms of digital tech. Most taxis, for example, still only take cash -- no Apple Pay or credit cards. I was lucky to find some leftover Hong Kong dollars in an old wallet before the trip. After the awards ceremony, I joined colleagues from Nikkei and the Financial Times at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. Over late-night drinks, I was reminded that Hong Kong was once the most important hub for international media. While many outlets have since moved staff to Singapore, Seoul, or Taipei due to shifting geopolitics, the harbor view and historic architecture still say a lot about the city's vibrant good old days. Cutting-edge concerns Chipmakers from Taiwan and South Korea are searching for their next growth drivers amid global macroeconomic uncertainty. Taiwan's second-largest contract chipmaker, United Microelectronics Corp., is evaluating whether it should enter cutting-edge chip production, Nikkei Asia's Cheng Ting-Fang writes. UMC's CFO confirmed the company is exploring more advanced chip production, but noted that partnering with others to share the investment burden would be a key strategy. UMC is eyeing chip production tech as advanced as 6-nanometers, a level currently dominated by TSMC, Samsung and Intel, sources said. Samsung, meanwhile, is still looking for customers for a new plant in the U.S., Kim Jaewon and Cheng Ting-Fang report. The world's second-largest contract chipmaker is building a cutting-edge fab in Taylor, Texas, that it says will start production in 2026, four years after construction began. Sources say Samsung is holding off on equipment installation, however, as it has yet to secure enough customers to utilize the planned capacity. Both UMC and Samsung, like many other chipmakers, face growing pressure from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China's top chipmaker, which has benefited from the country's push to localize chip production and strengthen supply chain resilience. Son's succession signals SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has dropped his biggest hint yet about the future leadership of the technology conglomerate he started more than 40 years ago, writes the Financial Times' David Keohane. Son, who indicated he had the drive to stay in charge for another 10 years, said his successor was someone already working beside him within SoftBank. "Deciding when to declare these two, three or four people are candidates is a matter of timing, and I wouldn't want them getting overconfident or acting entitled. I also still have the desire to stay on a bit longer, so it's about managing that delicate balance," Son said at the group's annual meeting in Tokyo. Son referred to Junichi Miyakawa, the head of SoftBank Corp., the group's listed telecoms unit, as someone doing an "extremely good job" and in whom he placed great trust. People close to the group denied it was an indication that Miyakawa was in line for the top job. Instead, they said he was given as an example of how Son had already entrusted someone with one key part of the business. Cat-eared, quadraped or humanoid? Robots are shaping up to be the next big thing in the tech industry, but approaches are varied. Japan is focusing on practical, task-specific automation to address its labor shortages, particularly in sectors like restaurants and office maintenance, writes Ryohtaroh Satoh of Nikkei Asia. Tokyo-based research firm Fuji Keizai estimates the domestic service robot market will more than double from 2024 to 2030, reaching 400 billion yen ($2.7 billion), outpacing industrial robots. Meanwhile, Apple supplier Foxlink aims to shift from being a traditional electronics component maker to an AI robotics solutions provider by 2030, Freddy Kou, head of its robotics division, told Nikkei Asia's Lauly Li. The move aims to diversify revenue, reduce exposure to consumer electronics volatility, and capitalize on AI growth. Foxlink is investing in AI-powered robots for security and industrial automation and is leveraging Nvidia's platform to accelerate development. BYD vs Tesla BYD continues to lead global electric car sales, outperforming major U.S. rival Tesla for the third consecutive quarter, Yifan Yu of Nikkei Asia writes. Both companies faced industrywide headwinds, such as intensifying competition in China and growing macroeconomic uncertainties. But while BYD's shipments jumped 42.5% on the year for the April-June quarter, driven in part by a series of price cuts, Tesla sales fell around 13%. The U.S. company is facing some unique challenges, namely CEO Elon Musk's increasingly strained relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, which investors see as an overhang on the company's stock and business prospects, and customer pushback against Musk's political activities. Peeling back the layers of the AI supply chain onion Welcome to the Tech Latest podcast. Hosted by our tech coverage veterans, Katey Creel and Akito Tanaka, every Tuesday we deliver the hottest trends and news from the sector. In this episode, Katey speaks with Taipei Tech correspondent Lauly Li and Tokyo correspondent Ryohtaroh Satoh about the ins-and-outs of the upstream AI supply chain, and the role small Japanese companies play in that ecosystem. Find us on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Voicy | YouTube | YouTube Music Suggested reads 1. US lifts curbs on chip design tool sales to China amid trade talks (Nikkei Asia) 2. Amazon developer plays down buzz over humanlike robots (Nikkei Asia) 3. BYD holds on to EV crown as Tesla faces robotaxi, Trump uncertainties (Nikkei Asia) 4. Crypto-crazy investors make South Korea the best-performing market in Asia (FT) 5. Donald Trump says he has found group of 'wealthy people' to buy TikTok (FT) 6. The Asian factories on the frontline of Trump's tariffs (FT) 7. Malaysia seeks to boost VCs with new fund, tax incentives (Nikkei Asia) 8. The vulnerabilities holding back Chinese industry (FT) 9. Japan's utilities pour billions into power grid amid data center growth (Nikkei Asia) 10. US shoppers ditch Shein and Temu as Trump closes tax loophole (FT)
Nikkei Asia
03-07-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Cutting-edge pressure and BYD leads Tesla
Hi everyone! This is Cheng Ting-Fang, your techAsia host, saying hello from Taipei! I just returned from a short trip to Hong Kong, where I attended a gala dinner and awards ceremony. I am excited to share some wonderful news with you: Nikkei Asia won the top prize in technology reporting from the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) -- a prestigious competition that places us alongside the biggest global news publications like Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. I vividly remember the journey that this award-winning coverage entailed. It was a lot of the hard work and collaboration with my incredible colleagues. One small anecdote I would like to share involves the subsea cable map we produced, tracing Chinese investment and involvement in undersea cables dating back to the 1990s. This project started with digging through decades-old Chinese government and telecom documents to identify every cable with Chinese participation. We then needed actual raw map data to allow our art team to visualize and illustrate these cables. At one point, the project was almost dead when we discovered that the map data would cost $20,000, far beyond our budget. But after discussing strategy with my colleagues, I nervously took on the role of procurement specialist and managed to negotiate the price down to about $800 for just the data we needed. Lauly Li, Shunsuke Tabeta, Tsubasa Suruga and I interviewed several Chinese and foreign executives in various locations to gain insight from within the subsea cable sector in China and Southeast Asia, perspectives rarely heard in global media. Another standout project was our mapping of China's electronics supply chain, highlighting the areas where the country has built competitive alternatives to global leaders. Looking back at the six years since Huawei was added to the U.S. Entity List, it's remarkable how much the global supply chain has shifted and how rapidly China's localization drive has taken off. The launch of that feature was not as smooth as we had hoped. It coincided with breaking news that Nissan and Honda were in merger talks, and faced a technical glitch that prevented our graphics from displaying properly for the first 50 hours the story was up. But once that was resolved, we received great feedback from the industry for the depth and detail of our reporting. The third story in the package looked at how China built a competitive advanced display industry previously dominated by Samsung. There is a saying in Taiwan that goes, "Eat sugarcane from the bottom up," which means each bite becomes sweeter than the last. And another familiar line sums up my feelings: "Every cloud has a silver lining." I want to express my deep gratitude to our art team, led by MinJung Kim and Michael Tsang, for transforming our raw research and reporting into clear and powerful graphics that our readers consistently find valuable. Special thanks also to Katherine Creel, our tech editor, and the entire Nikkei Asia editorial team for their endless support and collaboration in making these projects possible. Hong Kong has always brought back fond memories. I hadn't been back to the city since 2019, before COVID, and in some ways it felt like stepping into a time capsule, especially in terms of digital tech. Most taxis, for example, still only take cash -- no Apple Pay or credit cards. I was lucky to find some leftover Hong Kong dollars in an old wallet before the trip. After the awards ceremony, I joined colleagues from Nikkei and the Financial Times at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. Over late-night drinks, I was reminded that Hong Kong was once the most important hub for international media. While many outlets have since moved staff to Singapore, Seoul, or Taipei due to shifting geopolitics, the harbor view and historic architecture still say a lot about the city's vibrant good old days. Cutting-edge concerns Chipmakers from Taiwan and South Korea are searching for their next growth drivers amid global macroeconomic uncertainty. Taiwan's second-largest contract chipmaker, United Microelectronics Corp., is evaluating whether it should enter cutting-edge chip production, Nikkei Asia's Cheng Ting-Fang writes. UMC's CFO confirmed the company is exploring more advanced chip production, but noted that partnering with others to share the investment burden would be a key strategy. UMC is eyeing chip production tech as advanced as 6-nanometers, a level currently dominated by TSMC, Samsung and Intel, sources said. Samsung, meanwhile, is still looking for customers for a new plant in the U.S., Kim Jaewon and Cheng Ting-Fang report. The world's second-largest contract chipmaker is building a cutting-edge fab in Taylor, Texas, that it says will start production in 2026, four years after construction began. Sources say Samsung is holding off on equipment installation, however, as it has yet to secure enough customers to utilize the planned capacity. Both UMC and Samsung, like many other chipmakers, face growing pressure from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China's top chipmaker, which has benefited from the country's push to localize chip production and strengthen supply chain resilience. Son's succession signals SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has dropped his biggest hint yet about the future leadership of the technology conglomerate he started more than 40 years ago, writes the Financial Times' David Keohane. Son, who indicated he had the drive to stay in charge for another 10 years, said his successor was someone already working beside him within SoftBank. "Deciding when to declare these two, three or four people are candidates is a matter of timing, and I wouldn't want them getting overconfident or acting entitled. I also still have the desire to stay on a bit longer, so it's about managing that delicate balance," Son said at the group's annual meeting in Tokyo. Son referred to Junichi Miyakawa, the head of SoftBank Corp., the group's listed telecoms unit, as someone doing an "extremely good job" and in whom he placed great trust. People close to the group denied it was an indication that Miyakawa was in line for the top job. Instead, they said he was given as an example of how Son had already entrusted someone with one key part of the business. Cat-eared, quadraped or humanoid? Robots are shaping up to be the next big thing in the tech industry, but approaches are varied. Japan is focusing on practical, task-specific automation to address its labor shortages, particularly in sectors like restaurants and office maintenance, writes Ryohtaroh Satoh of Nikkei Asia. Tokyo-based research firm Fuji Keizai estimates the domestic service robot market will more than double from 2024 to 2030, reaching 400 billion yen ($2.7 billion), outpacing industrial robots. Meanwhile, Apple supplier Foxlink aims to shift from being a traditional electronics component maker to an AI robotics solutions provider by 2030, Freddy Kou, head of its robotics division, told Nikkei Asia's Lauly Li. The move aims to diversify revenue, reduce exposure to consumer electronics volatility, and capitalize on AI growth. Foxlink is investing in AI-powered robots for security and industrial automation and is leveraging Nvidia's platform to accelerate development. BYD vs Tesla BYD continues to lead global electric car sales, outperforming major U.S. rival Tesla for the third consecutive quarter, Yifan Yu of Nikkei Asia writes. Both companies faced industrywide headwinds, such as intensifying competition in China and growing macroeconomic uncertainties. But while BYD's shipments jumped 42.5% on the year for the April-June quarter, driven in part by a series of price cuts, Tesla sales fell around 13%. The U.S. company is facing some unique challenges, namely CEO Elon Musk's increasingly strained relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, which investors see as an overhang on the company's stock and business prospects, and customer pushback against Musk's political activities. Peeling back the layers of the AI supply chain onion Welcome to the Tech Latest podcast. Hosted by our tech coverage veterans, Katey Creel and Akito Tanaka, every Tuesday we deliver the hottest trends and news from the sector. In this episode, Katey speaks with Taipei Tech correspondent Lauly Li and Tokyo correspondent Ryohtaroh Satoh about the ins-and-outs of the upstream AI supply chain, and the role small Japanese companies play in that ecosystem. Find us on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Voicy | YouTube | YouTube Music Suggested reads 1. US lifts curbs on chip design tool sales to China amid trade talks (Nikkei Asia) 2. Amazon developer plays down buzz over humanlike robots (Nikkei Asia) 3. BYD holds on to EV crown as Tesla faces robotaxi, Trump uncertainties (Nikkei Asia) 4. Crypto-crazy investors make South Korea the best-performing market in Asia (FT) 5. Donald Trump says he has found group of 'wealthy people' to buy TikTok (FT) 6. The Asian factories on the frontline of Trump's tariffs (FT) 7. Malaysia seeks to boost VCs with new fund, tax incentives (Nikkei Asia) 8. The vulnerabilities holding back Chinese industry (FT) 9. Japan's utilities pour billions into power grid amid data center growth (Nikkei Asia) 10. US shoppers ditch Shein and Temu as Trump closes tax loophole (FT)
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Nikkei Asia
26-06-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
ASML commits to developing even more advanced chipmaking tools
Jos Benschop is in Japan this week as he is being recognized for his contributions to photopolymer science by the International Conference of Photopolymer Science and Technology. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by ASML and Cheng Ting-Fang) CHENG TING-FANG TAIPEI -- ASML, the world's largest semiconductor equipment maker, is already working to develop the next generation of cutting-edge lithography machines to serve the chip industry in the next decade, the company's executive vice president of technology told Nikkei Asia. Jos Benschop said the Netherlands-based company and its exclusive optics partner Carl Zeiss are studying designs for machines that could print circuits with a resolution as fine as 5 nanometers in a single exposure, adding that the technology would be advanced enough to serve the industry's needs from 2035 and beyond.
Nikkei Asia
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
TSMC's rosy outlook and Huawei's investment web
Hello everyone, this is Cissy from Hong Kong. This week, the Hong Kong police are on high alert again as Wednesday marked the 36th anniversary of Beijing's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square in the Chinese capital. Although public mourning over the tragedy has diminished since the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020, some pro-democracy individuals still have been trying in their own ways to commemorate those who were killed. For example, one shop was selling white candles -- like those traditionally used for candlelight vigils to mark the anniversary -- for 6.40 Hong Kong dollars each. Some individuals stopped by Victoria Park, where people had gathered to commemorate the victims of the crackdown for 30 years, with white flowers, but they were soon escorted away by the police. In Causeway Bay, the usual starting point for most protests over the past 30 years, a performance artist chewing gum with her hands in pockets was searched by police and then escorted to a subway station. Even more upsetting is the case of the owner of a white Porsche with the license plate "US 8964." The driver was pulled over and detained by police on June 4 in both 2023 and 2024, and he told local media this week that he has shipped the car outside Hong Kong after his family was harassed and intimidated by unknown individuals over the past year. From its population structure to daily consumption patterns, Hong Kong has changed a lot in the past five years. As I was casually watching the street on Wednesday, I briefly counted the car brands passing me at an intersection in the central business district. In the space of about 5 minutes, the majority of cars that passed by were Tesla, Toyota or Mercedes-Benz. I also saw five Maxus, a brand under the state-owned SAIC, one BYD, one Xpeng and one Zeekr, as EV brands from mainland China are increasingly seen in Hong Kong's streets, while they are caught up in an increasingly ugly war at home as their pricing and inventory tactics draw scrutiny from regulators. Expecting a record Despite geopolitical tensions, tariffs and volatile exchange rates looming over the semiconductor market, the world's largest chip foundry is confident that it will log a record profit this year as AI demand remains strong, writes Nikkei Asia's Cheng Ting-Fang. TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said during the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday that tariffs would drive up prices and potentially suppress demand, and that the only thing he fears is a global economic slowdown. Still, he noted that AI chip demand continues to exceed supply, and his recent discussions with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have centered on quickly boosting production capacity to address this shortfall. Wei also talked about his company's fresh $100 billion investment in the U.S., saying he announced the total all at once because a smaller figure "wouldn't even make Trump open his eyes." And while he did try to explain to the president how challenging it would be to achieve that five-year plan, Trump -- who Wei described as "warm" -- simply replied, "Do your best!" In the crosshairs Electronics giant Xiaomi is among the Chinese tech groups hit hardest by Donald Trump's latest crackdown on the semiconductor supply chain, write the Financial Times' Zijing Wu and Eleanor Olcott. The U.S. president announced a directive last month instructing electronic design automation (EDA) groups to stop supplying their technology to China. That move will hit a number of Chinese groups that use the American-made software to design their own advanced chips before manufacturing the processors in Taiwan. And Xiaomi is first in line to be affected, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company unveiled a breakthrough self-designed mobile processor in May. Its chip is on a leading-edge 3-nanometer node of miniaturization and is made in Taiwan with a mix of licenses and tools from now-restricted U.S. EDA companies. Other Chinese groups also using American EDA tools and TSMC's contract manufacturing for their self-designed chips include the world's biggest computer maker Lenovo and bitcoin mining specialist Bitmain, according to industry insiders. Huawei's investment strategy Since Huawei was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019, the Chinese tech giant has invested in more than 60 chip companies in China to foster its own supply chain, Nikkei's Itsuro Fujino reports. Huawei has been ramping up its investments through Hubble, a wholly owned investment arm established in 2019. Since its inception, Hubble has backed companies spanning chip design, materials, manufacturing and testing. In the majority of these deals, Hubble holds a stake of less than 10%. In addition to its investments through Hubble, Huawei maintains close ties with chip equipment maker SiCarrier. The Shenzhen-headquartered company develops and produces equipment primarily for the front-end process of creating fine circuits on wafers. The company reportedly spun off from Huawei following U.S. sanctions and now operates under the umbrella of the Shenzhen city government. Half the power, just as strong SoftBank and Intel are partnering to develop an advanced AI-specific memory chip that promises a substantial reduction in power usage. The plan involves creating a novel stacked DRAM chip that is distinct from current high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and is expected to halve power consumption, according to Nikkei's staff writers. The project is spearheaded by Saimemory, a newly formed company, leveraging Intel's technology alongside patented innovations from Japanese institutions, including the University of Tokyo. The goal is to complete a prototype within two years, after which a decision will be made on mass production. Targeting commercialization within the 2020s, the project is estimated to cost about $70 million. Welcome to the Tech Latest podcast. Hosted by our tech coverage veterans, Katey Creel and Akito Tanaka, every Tuesday we deliver the hottest trends and news from the sector. In this episode, our host Katey speaks with Seoul correspondent Kim Jaewon about how tech and AI startups are transforming legal services in South Korea -- and the friction this sometimes creates with long-standing industry practices. Suggested reads 2. Indian tech fund sees domestic opportunity akin to 1990s Silicon Valley (FT) 3. Myanmar startup looks to bring 'affordable housing' to Bhutan, India (Nikkei Asia) 4. Cooking robots from Japan to serve US restaurants short on labor (Nikkei Asia) 6. Can the Gulf really become an AI superpower? (FT) 8. The West fears AI's threat to jobs. In Japan, it might save them (Nikkei Asia) 10. The VC industry needs a geopolitical reboot (FT)
