Industrial News

Automotive semiconductor industry has shown strong growth since 2021 as the industry bounced back from pandemic-related shortages. However, there are signs of a slowdown in the market, as quarterly revenues of top three suppliers reflect trend. Semiconductor Intelligence estimates the automotive semiconductor market was $67 billion in 2023, up 12% from 2022. The top 12 suppliers accounted for over three-quarters of the market. Infineon Technologies was the largest automotive semiconductor supplier, at $9.2 billion or 13.7% of the market. NXP Semiconductors was second at 11.2% and STMicroelectronics was third at 10.6%. These top three companies accounted for over one-third of [...]

MANILA, Philippines — The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved over P13 billion worth of projects that meet the increased investment capital threshold for approval by investment promotion agencies (IPAs). In a statement, the BOI said it approved six projects, with an investment capital between P1 billion and P15 billion, from Feb. 2 to June 11, of this year. These projects represent a total investment of P13.38 billion. To recall, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) issued a resolution last Feb.2,  which increased the investment capital threshold of projects seeking incentives to be approved by IPAs like the BOI to [...]

NXP Semiconductors will form a 40-60 joint-venture with Vanguard International Semiconductor to build a new 300mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Singapore with an initial investment of $7.8 billion. The name of the JV will be VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and its fab will support 130nm to 40nm mixed-signal, power management and analog products, targeting the automotive, industrial, consumer and mobile end markets. TSMC will transfer the process technologies. The JV will begin construction of the initial phase of the wafer fab in the second half of 2024. Its initial production will be available to customers during 2027. The JV will operate [...]

STMicro said it will supply SiC power devices for Geely's multiple brands of mid- to high-end all-electric vehicles, helping to boost performance, speed up charging and extend range. Geely Auto Group has signed a Silicon Carbide (SiC) power chip supply agreement with European chipmaker STMicroelectronics, as the Chinese automotive giant continues its electrification transition. STMicro and Geely have signed a long-term supply agreement for SiC devices that will see the two accelerate their collaboration in this area, according to a press release from the chipmaker today. STMicro will supply SiC power devices for Geely's mid-range and high-end all-electric vehicles across [...]

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported that to date, the agency has registered more than P30 billion worth of investments from 37 German-owned projects with over 20,000 direct jobs  in various ecozones in the country. PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said after concluding a week-long investment mission to Germany last May 13-17 as part of its aggressive investment promotion efforts. The PEZA mission coincided with the IFAT Munich 2024, which is a bi-annual event showcasing the biggest and most modern environmental technologies available in the market. “The mission aimed to touch base and understand the latest trends in [...]

FOREIGN INVESTMENT pledges slumped by 63.6% in the first quarter as global economic challenges prompted investors to be more wary of investing in emerging markets like the Philippines, analysts said. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the value of foreign commitments approved by investment promotion agencies dropped to P148.43 billion in the January-to-March period from P408.22 billion a year earlier. This was also 63.4% lower than P394.45 billion in the final three months of 2023, and the lowest since the P27.3 billion logged in the third quarter of 2023. Singapore was the biggest source of approved investment pledges [...]

STB GIGAFACTORY, Inc. said its factory in New Clark City will start operations by July, and hopes to expand its capacity to the equivalent of two gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of products within the next four years. “We’re projected to go live in July, and then in August we’ll have a big inauguration,” according to Dennis Chan Ibarra, chief executive officer of Australian-funded StB GigaFactory. StB GigaFactory produces batteries for energy storage backup for solar photovoltaic for residential, commercial, and industrial use. “We’re going to accelerate our plans to triple the volume to 2,000 megawatts. So, it has two GWh of [...]

External pressures can not only create hard-to-navigate demands on a company but also cause the undoing of many a strong business. But Gary Dirige, onsemi Philippines General Manager, believes if the foundation of a strong and passionate team is in place, strategy can help weather the storm and lead to a more resistant business in the end. Dirige joined as General Manager at a critical time for intelligent power technology company onsemi’s Philippines division. "The whole semiconductor company was starting on the downturn. I came at a point where a lot of tough decisions had to be made and executed. [...]

Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) said its net loss widened to $109.19 million last year from $6.75 million in the previous year. The company said its financial results included one-time losses of $106.1 million related to the sale of STI Enterprises Ltd. which was divested on October 31, and impairment of goodwill and certain assets. IMI said its revenues was 6 percent lower to $1.32 billion, from $1.4 billion in the previous year, driven by factors attributable to its non-wholly owned subsidiary group including the shorter fiscal year of STI. “Through intensive collaboration with customer and supplier partners, IMI core [...]

Intel, GlobalFoundries and Infineon are some of the chip makers that have set up or expanded operations in Malaysia over the last few years. “Malaysia has well-established infrastructure with around five decades of experience in the ‘back end’ of the semiconductor manufacturing process, particularly in assembly, testing and packaging,” said Kenddrick Chan of LSE’s foreign policy think tank. This comes as a U.S.-China chip war prompted companies to diversify operations. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - 2018/01/24: A foreigner is seen with a Malaysia flag as a background. Kuala Lumpur or commonly known as KL is the national capital for Malaysia and [...]