Semiconductor Industry 02 (Aug 22 - Dec 26)

[winston]

MY Semicon: U-turns and uncertainty

More exemptions in latest US tariff policy salvo

The Trump administration’s trade policy yo-yo took its latest turn on 11 April as it announced further semiconductor and E&E-related reciprocal tariff (RT) exemptions.

Although we’re positive on the latest policy change, we remain NEUTRAL on the sector owing to possible sustained uncertainty surrounding US trade policy and its impact on integrated global semicon supply chain.

Frontken (BUY, TP MYR5.30) remains our top sector pick for its secular exposure to front-end industry growth amidst the AI revolution.

We expect short-term positive share price reaction for Inari, as the new exemptions allay demand destruction risks for Apple. T

rump is set to announce yet another update on semicon tariffs on 14 April.

Source: Maybank

https://mkefactsettd.maybank-ke.com/PDFS/450144.pdf

[behappyalways]

Huawei Races To Replace Nvidia: New Ascend 910D AI Chip Will Begin Testing Next Month In China
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/hu ... onth-china

[winston]

Trump to rescind global chip curbs, prep new AI restrictions, Bloomberg reports

By Stephanie Lai & Mackenzie Hawkins

The rule included caps on total shipments to places like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which already had to obtain US government approval for advanced chip imports under the 2023 regulations.

It also imposed chip controls for the first time on dozens of countries, including India, Malaysia and Poland.

Trump officials intend to impose curbs on countries that have diverted chips to China, including Malaysia and Thailand.

Source: Bloomberg

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/754441

[behappyalways]

Chinese Automakers Target Using 100% Domestic Made Chips In New Vehicles
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/chine ... w-vehicles

[winston]

Time to raise bets on Malaysia semiconductor stocks on expected ‘market-friendly’ trade deal: UOBKH

Maybank has also predicted that the country could shine in the next phase of global trade

by Therese Soh

UOB’s top picks include engineering solutions provider Coraza, pharmaceutical company Duopharma Biotech, property player Eco World Development, Gamuda, Hume Cement Industries, semiconductor services provider IJM and digital services provider Zetrix AI (formerly MY EG Services) – all of which were assigned a “buy” rating.

Coraza’s target price was RM0.66.

Inari, a company involved in semiconductor assembly, is another new addition to UOBKH’s top picks.

The brokerage lifted its target price to RM2.36 from RM1.90.

Source: Business Times

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/intern ... deal-uobkh

[behappyalways]

A decade of $AMD vs $INTC: the trend is clear
https://x.com/Mayhem4Markets/status/1942049689773215909

[behappyalways]

$NVDA really dominates the semiconductor market. It's about as large as the rest of the US-listed companies combined when measured by market cap
https://x.com/Mayhem4Markets/status/1942051658332090672

[winston]

DBS Stock Pulse: Global Semiconductors – Near-term cautious as uncertainty looms

Near-term cautious as uncertainty looms

Latest proposal to curb AI chip exports to Malaysia/Thailand and potential additional tariff under Section 232 (e.g., pharma, semiconductors) remain as lingering risks

Implications: We do not rule out near-term profit taking in info tech and AI names on rising uncertainty

Recent outperformance of tech bellwethers on renewed AI optimism have powered the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices to all-time highs

Take profit on AMD, KLAC, STMicro given our cautious outlook on these stocks, with >20% gains over the last 4 weeks

How you should position? Our earlier call on 9 June (4 semiconductor stocks to ride the AI/DC supercycle) has worked out well, but we await better entry points (i.e., buy on pullbacks)

We maintain our positive view on the AI/DC value chain for
1) stronger forward revenue/earnings growth,
2) robust AI growth momentum on ongoing hyperscaler/sovereign AI CAPEX spendingKey AI/DC stocks are Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron and TSMC

Source: DBS

https://www.dbs.com/insightsdirect/coun ... ecid=26308

[behappyalways]

Nvidia to resume H20 chip sales to China in surprise US reversal
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/s ... s-reversal

[behappyalways]

Nvidia, AMD Get Green Light To Restart Certain AI Chip Sales To China
https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/nvidia-sec ... turnaround