On October 22, 2025, the First People’s Court of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, officially initiated the bankruptcy liquidation process for the local PCB manufacturer, Dongguan Leike Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., at the request of Dongguan Jingwang Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., and appointed Guangdong Shangkuan Law Firm to handle the related liquidation work. The case is subject to a fast-track trial mechanism, which must be completed within six months. According to the court announcement, relevant creditors must declare their claims to the administrator, Mai Jingwen, at the second floor of Building 1, Bay Area International, Chezhang Road, Nancheng Street, Dongguan City, before December 22, 2025. The first creditors’ meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 5, 2026, with specific details to be announced later.It is reported that the core basis for the bankruptcy review proposed by the applicant is that Dongguan Leike Electronics has no ability to repay its due debts, and its asset scale is insufficient to cover all liabilities. After a joint investigation by multiple departments of the court, the company has only 46,173.28 yuan in bank deposits and no other executable assets; as of August 15, 2025, the court has accepted eight cases against it, with a total execution amount of 2,475,936.91 yuan. Notably, due to contract disputes with Yangsheng New Materials (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd. and Huizhou Tonglixin Electronics Co., Ltd. (with unpaid amounts of 68,016.82 yuan and 1,446,374.28 yuan respectively), the company and its legal representative, Zhang, have been subjected to high consumption restrictions by the courts in Zhuhai and Dongguan four times this year.Public information shows that Dongguan Leike Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. was established in February 2007 and is a technology enterprise focused on the research and manufacturing of printed circuit boards, metal-based circuit boards, and flexible boards, with a peak monthly production capacity exceeding 10,000 square meters. Its products are widely used in various fields such as LED lighting, computer equipment, communication terminals, industrial control, and military electronics, and it was once an important member of the PCB industry cluster in the Pearl River Delta.01.PCB Industry Development Trend: The Strong Get Stronger
The current PCB industry is undergoing profound structural changes, with the “Matthew Effect” of the strong getting stronger becoming increasingly evident. Data shows that by 2025, the market share of the top ten PCB manufacturers globally has risen to 52%, an increase of 3 percentage points from the previous year, while leading Chinese companies continue to break through in high-end fields such as AI servers and new energy vehicles. Three core driving forces are particularly prominent behind this trend:Explosive High-End Demand and Capacity MismatchRapid developments in AI computing infrastructure and new energy vehicles are driving a surge in demand for high-end HDI boards, IC substrates, and high-frequency high-speed PCBs. The domestic shipment of AI servers is expected to exceed 1.5 million units in 2025, leading to an 85% year-on-year increase in demand for high-end PCBs, while the gaps in core materials such as HVLP4 grade copper foil and high-end fiberglass cloth exceed 40% and 50%, respectively. Leading companies, with their long-term capacity layout and supply chain bargaining power, have become the main beneficiaries of this demand dividend.Rising Technical BarriersFrom traditional rigid boards to flexible boards, metal-based circuit boards, and advanced packaging substrates, the technological iteration of PCB products is accelerating. The global advanced IC packaging substrate market is expected to reach $15 billion by 2025, with a year-on-year growth of 12%, but the top ten manufacturers occupy 77% of the market share. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find it difficult to enter high value-added tracks due to insufficient R&D investment and weak technological accumulation.Resource Integration Capability of Leading EnterprisesIndustry leaders such as Unimicron Technology and Shenchong Technology are significantly increasing their capital expenditures in 2025, consolidating their advantages through domestic and overseas capacity expansion and vertical integration of the industry chain. From 2025 to 2026, the total planned investment by leading domestic PCB companies is expected to reach 41.9 billion yuan, while SMEs generally face difficulties in financing and underutilization of capacity, leading to continuous market share squeeze.【PCB Industry Chain Consultation】Investing forty years of PCB industry experience to help PCB companies maintain sustainable profitability and competitiveness.02.Core Reasons for the Increase in SME Bankruptcies
Since 2025, in addition to Dongguan Leike Electronics, several PCB SMEs such as Shenzhen Qunhui Electronics and Jiangxi Yuyangsheng Electronics have successively entered bankruptcy proceedings, reflecting common challenges during the industry reshuffle:
- Cost Pressure and Supply Chain Risks: The prices of core raw materials such as copper foil and fiberglass cloth have skyrocketed (with HVLP4 grade copper foil priced at $30-40/kg, double that of ordinary products), and SMEs have weak bargaining power, making it difficult to pass on costs, severely compressing profit margins.
- Lagging Technological Transformation: Emerging fields such as AI and new energy vehicles have significantly raised the requirements for PCB precision and reliability, while SMEs lack sustained R&D capabilities and remain focused on the mid-to-low-end general product market, facing dual pressures of overcapacity and demand gaps.
- Cash Flow and Compliance Crises: SMEs generally face slow turnover of accounts receivable and limited financing channels, compounded by stricter environmental policies and rising compliance costs, leading some companies to fall into debt disputes due to broken capital chains. For instance, Qunhui Electronics had only 88.53 yuan left in its account but bore over 4.38 million yuan in unpaid debts, ultimately leading to bankruptcy.
- Management and Decision-Making Shortcomings: Most SMEs have concentrated ownership structures and lack scientific governance mechanisms, making them prone to errors in market judgment and capacity planning. In the case of Dongguan Leike Electronics, blind capacity expansion and inefficient debt management accelerated the deterioration of the company’s operations.
03.Path to Resolution: A Multi-Dimensional Solution System (Expert Guidance + Collaborative Paths)
In the face of industry reshuffle pressures, SMEs need to build a multi-dimensional solution system of “independent breakthroughs + external empowerment + ecological collaboration,” with expert guidance as an important support, complementing other paths:【PCB Industry Chain Consultation】Investing forty years of PCB industry experience to help PCB companies maintain sustainable profitability and competitiveness.(1) Policy and Financial Innovation: Key to Breaking the Funding Dilemma
- Direct Special Financing Tools: Drawing on the “Credit Insurance Loan” model of Sichuan Yingchuangli Electronics, relying on export credit insurance policies to achieve accounts receivable buyout, transforming “intangible credit” into liquidity. SMEs can proactively connect with financial institutions such as China Construction Bank and Bank of China for “Technology Loans” and “Specialized and New Loans,” simplifying approval processes through cross-border financial service platforms, with single credit limits up to 50 million yuan.
- Accurate Claiming of Policy Benefits: Proactively connect with local industry and information technology departments to apply for technology transformation subsidies (up to 15% of project investment), R&D expense deductions (increased to 100% for manufacturing enterprises), and special subsidies for upgrading environmental protection equipment, reducing compliance transformation costs.
- Supply Chain Financial Innovation: Join supply chain financial platforms led by core enterprises, revitalizing existing assets through accounts receivable pledges and order financing, alleviating upstream payment pressures. Achieve financing efficiency improvements of over 30%.
(2) Technological Differentiation Breakthroughs: Core Path to Avoid Red Ocean Competition
- Deepening Niche Markets: Focus on specific scenarios such as LED lighting, medical instruments, and industrial control to create differentiated products. For example, Hangzhou Lieban Technology specializes in high-end customized PCBs, supporting 1-26 layer high multilayer boards and 1000mm×600mm oversized board customization, occupying a high ground in niche markets through “special processes + rapid response” (24-hour sampling, 48-hour small batch delivery).
- Low-Cost Technology Upgrades: Prioritize the introduction of modular digital tools, such as cloud-based ERP systems and AI visual inspection equipment, to replace the high costs of full-process intelligent transformation; collaborate with university laboratories for joint R&D to share the R&D costs of high-frequency materials and precision processes, focusing on breaking through 1-2 core technologies (such as thick copper processes and precise impedance control).
- Patent and Standard Layout: Apply for core process patents for differentiated products, such as nickel-palladium gold surface treatment and low warpage processes, to build technical barriers; participate in industry standard discussions to enhance voice in niche fields, adapting to special certification requirements such as automotive-grade (AEC-Q100) and military-grade.
(3) Supply Chain and Cost Optimization: Building Autonomous and Controllable Capabilities
- Joint Procurement for Cost Reduction: Form joint procurement groups with 3-5 SMEs in the same region to centrally purchase core raw materials such as copper foil and fiberglass cloth, enhancing bargaining power by 20%-30%; join industry collective procurement alliances to obtain bulk discounts from raw material suppliers through centralized ordering, reducing unit procurement costs.
- Building Flexible Supply Chains: Sign long-term framework agreements with 2-3 core material suppliers, establishing price fluctuation mechanisms to avoid risks of skyrocketing raw material prices; create a backup supplier database to ensure dual-source supply of key materials, ensuring production continuity.
- Lean Production Efficiency Improvement: Introduce 5S management and lean production models to optimize material waste in production processes (target control within 3%); reduce energy costs through equipment energy-saving transformations (such as recycling water in electroplating processes), with some companies achieving a 15% reduction in energy consumption per unit of output.
(4) Digital and Management Upgrades: Solidifying the Foundation for Internal Growth
- Lightweight Digital Transformation: Prioritize deploying production execution systems (MES) and inventory management systems (WMS) to achieve full-process visualization of orders, production, and inventory; adopt cloud-native SaaS tools (such as Yonyou YonBIP, Kingdee Cloud Star), lowering the threshold for digital investment, with annual investments controllable within 100,000 to 500,000 yuan.
- Optimizing Governance Structures: Introduce professional management teams to establish market-oriented decision-making mechanisms; improve financial internal control systems, setting cash flow warning lines to avoid risks of capital chain breakage due to blind expansion.
- Building Talent Pipelines: Collaborate with vocational colleges for “order-based training” to direct the supply of skilled workers; retain core technical talents through equity incentives and project bonuses, addressing the “difficulty in hiring and retaining” issues faced by SMEs.
(5) Industry Ecological Collaboration: Efficient Path for Resource Integration
- Leveraging Cluster Development: Settle in PCB professional industrial parks (such as Shenzhen Shajing Electronic Industrial Park, Suining Electronic Information Industry Cluster) to share environmental processing facilities, testing laboratories, and logistics support, reducing fixed cost investments by over 30%.
- Cooperation with Leading Enterprises: Proactively connect with leading companies such as Unimicron Technology and Shenchong Technology to become their supporting service providers in specific segments, leveraging the order resources and technical standards of leading enterprises to achieve capability upgrades; participate in collaborative R&D projects with leading enterprises to rapidly improve product quality levels.
- Application of Shared Manufacturing Platforms: Utilize idle capacity in the industry to complete small-batch, customized order production through shared factory models, avoiding capital occupation from building self-owned capacity; access industrial internet platforms (such as Huawei Cloud “PCB Industry Cloud”) for shared services such as process optimization and equipment maintenance.
(6) Expert Precision Empowerment: Professional Support at Key Nodes
- Technical Route Decision Guidance: At key nodes such as product upgrades and process transformations, invite industry experts to assess technical feasibility, avoiding blind investments. For example, experts can guide companies to choose suitable high-frequency materials (such as ceramic-filled PTFE substrates, Rogers RO4350B substrates) based on their capacity foundation, rather than blindly entering high-investment tracks like IC substrates.
- Compliance Risk Early Warning: Establish environmental and financial compliance systems with the help of expert experience to avoid risks from policy adjustments; obtain professional legal and financial guidance in scenarios such as debt restructuring and dispute resolution to maximize asset protection for enterprises.
- Resource Connection Bridge: Connect with university R&D resources, testing and certification institutions, and potential investors through expert networks to shorten resource acquisition cycles; receive professional support for application processes and material preparation when applying for qualifications such as “specialized and new” enterprises and high-tech enterprises.
04.Future Outlook: A New Pattern of Increased Concentration and Symbiotic Segmentation
Looking ahead to the next 3-5 years, the PCB industry will present a pattern of “leading by the strong, symbiotic segmentation”:
- Continuous Increase in Market Concentration: With the expansion and merger integration of leading enterprises, the industry CR5 ratio is expected to rise from the current 28% to over 40%, and SMEs lacking core competitiveness will accelerate their exit from the market.
- Simultaneous Advancement of High-End and Domestic Production: The high-end PCB demand in fields such as AI servers, new energy vehicles, and advanced packaging will continue to grow rapidly, while domestic enterprises will accelerate the process of domestic substitution in areas such as IC substrates, with leading enterprises and SMEs possessing core technologies sharing this dividend.
- Green and Digital as Standard Configurations: Stricter environmental policies and upgraded production efficiency demands will drive PCB companies to fully transition to green manufacturing and digital production, with those failing to complete the transformation being eliminated.
- Opportunities in Niche Markets Highlighted: There remains differentiated demand space in niche fields such as LED lighting, industrial control, and medical instruments. SMEs focusing on specific scenarios and possessing technological advantages are expected to establish competitiveness in niche markets, achieving sustainable development characterized by “small but beautiful”.
In summary, the “strong get stronger” phenomenon in the PCB industry does not imply that SMEs have no survival space, but rather raises higher demands for their resource integration capabilities and differentiated competitiveness. Through multi-dimensional interactions of policy leverage, technological deepening, ecological collaboration, and expert empowerment, SMEs can find their positioning in the industry reshuffle, achieving a leap from “survival” to “development” and jointly promoting the Chinese PCB industry towards high quality and high added value.Building new industry standards together with Shenghong Technology, Founder Technology, Huaqiu Electronics, Shengyi Electronics, and the China Electronics Association…Experience from Taiwan + Speed from the Mainland: This PCB industry exchange unlocks new upgrade codes.PCB Engineer Intermediate Skills Certificate | December Certification Assessment