Round-up
Highlights
- TSMC leans into AI demand – At its annual shareholder meeting the company forecast record 2025 earnings, saying AI orders will offset any drag from fresh U.S. tariffs and denying rumors of a Middle-East fab push.123
- SK hynix edges past Samsung in DRAM – A new TrendForce report shows Q1-25 DRAM revenue sliding 5.5 %, but SK hynix grabs the No. 1 spot for the first time on the strength of HBM shipments.4
- Renesas pulls the plug on SiC wafers – Facing a “scorched-earth” price war by Chinese suppliers, the Japanese maker abandoned its silicon-carbide line and will buy devices instead, freeing capital for advanced MCUs and AI accelerators.5
Other developments:
- TSMC’s Kumamoto-2 build slips six months
- Lam Research pitches de-risking at a BofA tech conference
- Greenpeace confronts TSMC on renewable-energy pace
- U.S.-Vietnam talks widen to Chinese content in electronics
- Invesco’s Form 8.3 hints at Qualcomm M&A positioning
Did you know? Greenpeace says TSMC’s fabs now consume 8 % of Taiwan’s total electricity—more than Taipei City—and wants a 2030 100 % renewables target.6
In-depth
1. Government & Corporate Policy
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TSMC tariff stance and governance tweaks
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U.S.–Vietnam “tough list” lands
- A 20-page annex demands Hanoi cut Chinese-origin inputs in servers, PCBs, and batteries, or face up to 46 % tariffs from July 8.8
- Washington also wants binding contracts for U.S. chip and tool imports.
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Kumamoto traffic jams stall fab-2
- TSMC blamed “logistics gridlock” around its first Japanese site for a six-month delay to breaking ground on the second plant; local officials eye new rail links.9
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M&A watch: Qualcomm in UK cross-hairs
- An Invesco Form 8.3 disclosure under the UK Takeover Code shows fund managers building positions ahead of any renewed Alphawave or Arm bid.10
2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook
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Memory market contraction, leadership swap
- TrendForce pegs Q1 DRAM sales at $17.6 billion, -5.5 % Q/Q; SK hynix ekes out a 28.2 % share vs. Samsung’s 27.9 %, buoyed by HBM3E volume.4
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TSMC signals “double-digit” growth
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Capital shifts into equipment names
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Equity tape wobbles on tariff angst
- Semiconductor indices lagged the S&P as European shares and U.S. futures slipped on trade-war headlines; bond yields ticked up and the dollar hit a six-week low.13
3. Technology & R&D
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World-first 321-layer mobile NAND
- SK hynix unveiled a UFS 4.1 module using its 321-layer 4D NAND (1 Tb dies), claiming 80 % write-energy cut for on-device AI workloads.14
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China’s AMEC demos 5 nm logic without EUV
- The domestic etch specialist showed gate-all-around samples processed on multi-patterned 193i DUV, aiming to sidestep export-controlled EUV tools.15
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Rare-earth-free laser crystals debut
- Fraunhofer researchers announced YAG alternatives that tolerate higher power density, targeting next-gen lithography and wafer metrology optics.16
Footnotes
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https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/tsmc-says-tariffs-have-some-impact-ai-demand-robust-2025-06-03/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-tsmc-profit-soaring-ai-demand.html ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250603PD225/tsmc-taiwan-chairman-revenue-2025.html ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/2025/06/03/news-dram-revenue-drops-5-5-in-the-first-quarter-of-2025/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/03/news-renesas-reportedly-abandons-sic-production-plan-amid-chinese-price-war-wolfspeed-uncertainty/ ↩︎
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https://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/press/68062/greenpeace-calls-on-tsmc-to-accelerate-energy-transition-at-shareholder-meeting/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/03/news-tsmc-reportedly-reaffirms-2025-sales-growth-of-24-26-warns-tariffs-may-push-up-prices/ ↩︎
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https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-made-tough-requests-vietnam-trade-talks-sources-say-2025-06-03/ ↩︎
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https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202506030652PR_NEWS_PRUKDSCL_0051-1 ↩︎
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https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-capital-asset-advisory-services-llc-acquires-5212-shares-of-applied-materials-inc-nasdaqamat-2025-06-03/ ↩︎
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https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-unigestion-holding-sa-invests-356-million-in-lam-research-co-nasdaqlrcx-2025-06-03/ ↩︎
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https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-1-2025-06-03/ ↩︎
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https://www.eetindia.co.in/sk-hynix-develops-ufs-4-1-solution-based-on-321-high-nand/ ↩︎
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https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/03/news-amec-unveils-5nm-process-without-euv-targets-chinas-advanced-node-gap/ ↩︎
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https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-laser-crystals-fibers-aim-reliance.html ↩︎