According to industry media reports, a domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturer has independently developed a14nm dry etching machine that has been validated by Yangtze Memory Technologies and received bulk orders, marking a further step in the localization of advanced process equipment in China. Semiconductor equipment and materials are the “cornerstone” of chip manufacturing, representing the segment of the semiconductor industry chain with the highest technical barriers and the most urgent need for localization.
Globally, the semiconductor equipment market has long been dominated by overseas giants such as Applied Materials,ASML, and Tokyo Electron, while the dependence on imports for key materials such as photoresists and specialty gases remains high.
In recent years, driven by the global restructuring of the chip industry chain and the domestic strategy of “self-control,” domestic equipment and materials companies have accelerated breakthroughs in technological bottlenecks, with products penetrating from mature processes to advanced processes, gradually increasing market share. From an industry trend perspective, with the explosive demand forAI chips and automotive electronics, the global wave of wafer fab construction continues, and the global semiconductor equipment market is expected to maintain an annual growth rate of over10% from 2023 to 2025.
Domestically, the expansion plans of wafer fabs such as SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor provide a broad “replacement space” for domestic equipment and materials, while the development of emerging fields such as third-generation semiconductors and silicon carbide presents opportunities for domestic companies with technological reserves to overtake competitors.
In this issue, we will focus on the semiconductor equipment and materials sector, selecting the companies with the highest business relevance and presenting the top10 companies based on return on equity (ROE) as the core indicator. ROE effectively reflects a company’s ability to convert capital into profit; in the high-investment, high-risk semiconductor equipment and materials industry, a highROE often indicates significant advantages in technology conversion, customer expansion, or cost control.
Note: The following content does not constitute any investment advice, guidance, or commitment, and is for discussion purposes only.
10th Place: Jingrui Electric Materials
Segment: Photoresists, Ultra-Pure High-Purity Reagents
Return on Equity:2.98% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company is one of the few in China capable of producingKrF photoresists, with products entering the supply chains of SMIC, Hefei Changxin, and achieving breakthroughs in ultra-pure high-purity reagents in advanced processes.
9th Place: Jiangfeng Electronics
Segment: Ultra-Pure Sputtering Targets
Return on Equity:3.25% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s tantalum and aluminum targets are used in14nm advanced processes, supplying major global wafer fabs such as TSMC and SMIC, ranking among the top in the global sputtering target market.
8th Place: Anji Technology
Segment: Chemical Mechanical Polishing Liquids, Photoresist Removers
Return on Equity:3.67% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s chemical mechanical polishing liquids have broken the monopoly of the American companyCabot, achieving large-scale applications in14nm and above processes, while photoresist removers have entered the supply chains of Yangtze Memory Technologies and other memory manufacturers.
7th Place: Jingce Electronics
Segment: Semiconductor Testing Equipment
Return on Equity:3.92% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s film thickness detection and electron beam detection equipment have been applied in domestic12 inch wafer fabs, establishing cooperation with Hua Hong Semiconductor, Silan Microelectronics, and gradually replacing imported equipment.
6th Place: Huidian Co., Ltd.
Segment: Semiconductor Packaging Substrates, Printed Circuit Boards
Return on Equity:4.15% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s semiconductor packaging substrate products are used for high-end chip packaging and have entered the supply chains of Huawei and ZTE. With the development ofChiplet technology, demand continues to grow.
5th Place: Nanda Optoelectronics
Segment:MO Sources, Photoresists, Gallium Arsenide Monocrystals
Return on Equity:4.58% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’sMO source products have a global market share exceeding30%,ArF photoresists have passed customer validation and achieved mass production, and gallium arsenide monocrystals are applied in the RF chip field.
4th Place: Zhengfan Technology
Segment: Specialty Gases, High-Purity Process Systems
Return on Equity:4.93% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company provides electronic-grade specialty gases and high-purity process system solutions for wafer fabs, covering core customers such as SMIC and Shanghai Microelectronics, and performing outstandingly in domestic substitution.
3rd Place: Huafeng Measurement and Control
Segment: Semiconductor Testing Equipment
Return on Equity:5.37% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s analog testers lead the market share in power semiconductors and SoC fields, with a domestic market share exceeding40%, and has established cooperation with international manufacturers such as Infineon and Texas Instruments.
2nd Place: Yake Technology
Segment: Electronic Specialty Gases, LDS Materials, Photoresist Additives
Return on Equity:5.89% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company has formed a complete product line in the electronic specialty gas field through acquisitions and integrations, with products entering the supply chains of TSMC and Samsung, and photoresist additives supporting many domestic photoresist companies.
1st Place: Dinglong Co., Ltd.
Segment:CMP Polishing Pads, Colored Polymer Powders
Return on Equity:6.42% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s CMP polishing pads have broken the monopoly of American Dow, achieving stable supply in14nm advanced processes, with a global market share exceeding15%, while also expanding into the photoresist and supporting materials field.
The localization of semiconductor equipment and materials is key to achieving security in the semiconductor industry chain and is essential for the high-quality development of the domestic semiconductor industry. With accelerated technological breakthroughs, customer validations, and capacity releases, the market competitiveness of domestic equipment and materials companies will continue to improve.
The 10 companies selected in this issue demonstrate strong technological conversion capabilities and profitability in their respective segments, and their growth potential in the domestic substitution process is worth noting. In the future, with the adjustment of the global semiconductor industry landscape and the continuous expansion of domestic wafer fabs, these companies are expected to achieve higher quality development driven by both performance growth and technological breakthroughs.