Briefing on important news in the semiconductor industry (sorted by occurrence time)
1.InternationalImportant News10 items
1. On September 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce released “penetrating” export control regulations, implementing an embargo on overseas subsidiaries of parent companies listed on the entity list with holdings greater than 50%, effective immediately.
2. On September 30, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy issued a ministerial order to freeze the global assets, intellectual property, and personnel adjustments of Nexperia, a subsidiary of China’s Wingtech Technology, for one year.
3. On October 1, three foreign executives of Nexperia (CLO Ruben Lichtenberg, CFO Stefan Tilger, COO Achim Kempe) submitted an emergency investigation request to the Amsterdam Enterprise Court, demanding a board reorganization and the ousting of Chinese shareholders.
4. On October 6, the Dutch Enterprise Court held a hearing on the control dispute of Nexperia; on October 7, it ruled to suspend Zhang Xuezheng’s board and CEO powers, appoint independent foreign directors, and place the company under trusteeship, with Chinese parties retaining only economic rights.
5. On October 7, TSMC confirmed during a financial briefing that its CoWoS monthly production capacity had increased to 55,000 wafers in 2025, expected to reach 93,000 wafers in 2026; NVIDIA holds 60% of the orders, with AI revenue accounting for 25% of TSMC’s revenue.
6. On October 8, Samsung and SK Hynix confirmed that after the expiration of the 120-day “Verified End User (VEU)” exemption, their wafer fabs in mainland China would no longer enjoy zero-licensing treatment for U.S. equipment and would need to apply on a case-by-case basis.
7. On October 9, Intel signed a memorandum of understanding with the Italian government to invest 4.5 billion euros in building a 2nm pilot production line in Apulia, expected to be operational in 2027, with Italy providing 1.8 billion euros in subsidies.
8. On October 10, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry added 15 types of semiconductor materials, including EUV photoresist and Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics (LTCC), to the export control list against Russia, effective December 1.
9. On October 11, the European Council officially passed the implementation rules of the “Chip Act,” establishing a special fund of 15 billion euros from 2026 to 2030, prioritizing support for automotive and industrial-grade capacities below 65nm.
10. On October 12, the U.S. Senate passed the “2025 National Infrastructure Act for Advanced Packaging,” allocating 5.2 billion dollars over five years for OSAT and glass substrate research and development, with Intel, Amkor, and TSMC’s U.S. factories listed as the first beneficiaries.
2.DomesticImportant News11 item
1. On September 27, SMIC announced the completion of the minority equity acquisition of “SMIC North”; Beijing State-owned Assets Fund increased its stake to 25%, achieving 100% control of 12-inch 28nm and above processes.
2. On September 28, Changxin Storage held a product launch ceremony for LPDDR5 1b nm (16Gb) in Hefei, with mass shipments expected in the first quarter of 2026, filling the gap in domestic high-end DRAM.
3. On September 29, the China Semiconductor Industry Association released the “Automotive Chip Reliability Certification Guidelines,” unifying the AEC-Q100 supplementary clauses, with over 70 upstream and downstream companies signing up in the first batch.
4. On September 30, Huawei’s Shenzhen Hubble Investment and the Yangtze River Delta National Innovation Center jointly established the “Optoelectronic Integration Process Open Platform,” aiming for mass production of silicon photonic modulators by 2027.
5. On October 1, the Ministry of Commerce included U.S. analog chips (interface/gate driver types) in the anti-dumping investigation, with the investigation period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, and the industry damage investigation period extended to 2020.
6. On October 3, the Shanghai Lingang New Area launched a pilot for “Integrated Circuit Bonded R&D,” allowing the bonded use of imported photoresist, silicon wafers, and other consumables, with a maximum tax deferral of two years.
7. On October 5, Wingtech Technology announced that due to the Dutch government’s freezing order, Nexperia’s 14.7 billion yuan assets were restricted from disposal, and the company submitted an arbitration request to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
8. On October 7, Yuexin Semiconductor’s third-phase project topped out in Guangzhou Huangpu, planning a monthly production of 40,000 pieces of 90-55nm automotive-grade BCD process, expected to be operational in Q2 2026.
9. On October 9, China Electronics Technology Group’s ShuoKe ZhongKe Xin announced the delivery of its first wafer-level 14nm metal plasma etching machine, passing customer verification and receiving repeat orders.
10. On October 11, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved Huahong Semiconductor’s issuance of shares to acquire 97.5% equity of Huali Micro, with a transaction price of 21.2 billion yuan, enhancing Huahong Group’s overall 12-inch monthly production capacity to 180,000 wafers.
11. On October 10, according to the China Semiconductor Industry Association, the IC China 2025 International Semiconductor Expo will be grandly held from November 23 to 25 in Beijing, concurrently hosting a series of high-end forums including the 2025 Global IC Entrepreneurs Conference.