1. The demand for Mini LED has exploded, and the shortage of LED chips will increase by 5~10%

The Economic Daily reported on January 19 that the Optoelectronics Research Office of TrendForce stated that in 2021, major brands such as Apple and Samsung plan to launch laptops, tablet computers, TVs and other products fully equipped with Mini LED backlight Display, and the supply chain has been advanced in 2020. In the fourth quarter, the demand for Mini LED chips increased sharply, which in turn crowded out the production capacity of conventional chips. In the face of structural shortages of LED chips, some LED chip manufacturers have successively raised chip prices for non-core customers and low-margin products, with an estimated increase of about 5-10%.

Image source: Sohu.com

TrendForce further pointed out that in order to avoid the dilemma of rising raw material prices after the Spring Festival and shortage of stock due to tight production capacity, downstream manufacturers are now actively stocking up. If the first-line customers with more flexible bargaining power do not accept the price increase, they need to accept a delivery period of more than 2 months, which is significantly longer than the usual two-week delivery period. It is mentioned in the analysis that Epistar currently has a monthly shipment of 150,000 pieces of Mini LED chips, which are about 4 inches. The shipments of Sanan Optoelectronics and Huacan Optoelectronics are about 4-inch Mini LED chips, which are tens of thousands of chips per month, but they are still in short supply.

TrendForce believes that the rise in chip prices caused by the structural shortage is mainly attributable to the lack of awareness of the industry chain in the early stage of the outbreak of emerging application demand, the underestimation of the capacity occupancy of key production links, and the consequent capacity crowding effect. It is expected that within half a year hopefully resolved.

Materials/Equipment/EDA

2. Shiming Technology plans to build advanced photosensitive materials and photoresist nano-pigment dispersion projects

On January 18, Suzhou Shiming Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as “World Ming Technology”) announced that the company held the fourth meeting of the fourth board of directors on January 18, 2021, and reviewed and approved the “Regulations on Outbound Investment and The Proposal to Sign an Entry Agreement.” It is agreed that the company will sign the “Entry Agreement” with the Management Committee of Ma’anshan Cihu High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and use its own or self-raised funds of 220 million yuan to invest in the construction of “annual output of 56,000 tons of advanced photosensitive Materials and 1,000 tons of photoresist nano-pigment dispersion project”.

Image source: Shiming Technology

The announcement shows that the annual output of 56,000 tons of advanced photosensitive materials and 1,000 tons of photoresist nano-pigment dispersion project products mainly include: 30,000 tons of photopolymerizable monomers, 20,000 tons of high-performance resins, 1,000 tons of photoresist nano-pigment dispersions, and 6,000 tons of photoresist nano-pigment dispersions. UV Nano Pigment Paste. The project is implemented by a newly established wholly-owned subsidiary of Shiming Technology in Ma’anshan Cihu High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Fabless/IDM

3. The net profit of Weil shares in 2020 is expected to increase by 426.17%-533.55%

On January 18, Weir released the 2020 annual performance pre-increase announcement. The company expects that the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in 2020 will increase by 1.984 billion yuan to 2.484 billion yuan compared with the same period of the previous year, a year-on-year increase of 426.17% to 2.484 billion yuan. 533.55%; after deducting non-recurring gains and losses, the company expects that the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in 2020 will increase by 1.666 billion yuan to 2.166 billion yuan compared with the same period of the previous year, a year-on-year increase of 498.44% to 648.05%.

Image source: Weir semiconductor

Weil shares said that during the reporting period, driven by market demand and the continuous introduction of new products, the company’s profitability achieved relatively high growth. In addition, it is understood that Weir shares successfully completed the acquisition of Beijing OmniVision and Sbike last year. The main business has increased the layout of the CMOS image sensor field, which has rapidly improved the overall technical level of semiconductor design, and brought great benefits to Weir shares. It has acquired high-quality customer resources in the fields of smartphones, security, automobiles, and medical care, which has greatly improved the profitability.

4. New Rockchip Technology completed nearly 100 million yuan of Pre-A round of financing

Oriental Fortune.com reported on January 19 that the chip design company New Rockchip Technology has completed the Pre-A round of financing of nearly 100 million yuan at the end of 2020. This round of financing was led by Yizhuang State Investment, Zhongke Science and Technology, Langma Fengchuang Investment, Xinyun Capital, and Shouzheng Capital participated together. The funds raised this time will be mainly used for the R&D and industrialization of the company’s UWB positioning communication chips and 5G terminal intelligent tuning chips, as well as the company’s key RF and analog hybrid technology platforms for IoT and 5G small base station transceiver-related chips development and iteration.

Image source: New Rockchip Technology

New Rockchip Technology was established in 2016, focusing on the design and development of wireless communication chips. At present, the company focuses on UWB chips, and has independently developed a fully self-developed technology platform NRTP (NewRadio-Technical-Platform) covering high-end key RF and analog hybrid IP required for communication chips. Cooperated with a number of subjects, and completed the tape-out verification of 6 kinds of RF core key IP technology modules.

5. Zhangjiang·Zhaoxin project officially started

Zhaoxin’s official news shows that on January 18, the Zhangjiang Zhaoxin project officially started. The Zhangjiang·Zhaoxin project aims to actively respond to the national “14th Five-Year Plan” to insist on innovation-driven development and comprehensively shape the key development tasks of new development advantages.

Image source: Zhaoxin

According to reports, Zhaoxin was established in 2013. The company has mastered the three core technologies of CPU, GPU and chipset, and has the ability to design and develop the three core chips and related IP. Zhaoxin is headquartered in Shanghai, with R&D centers and branches in Beijing, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Wuhan and other places. At present, based on Zhaoxin’s new generation processors (KX-6000/KH-30000), Lenovo, Tongfang, Donghai, Haier, Ruijie, Shengteng, Climbing and other brands have launched more than 20 desktop PC and server products in different forms.

6. Minxin shares plan to participate in the establishment of MEMS investment center for 90 million yuan

On January 19, Minxin Co., Ltd. announced that the company signed the “Strategic Cooperation Agreement” with Suzhou Yuanfeng Capital Management Co., Ltd., Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Venture Capital Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Nano Technology Development Co., Ltd. after friendly negotiation. , to jointly invest in the establishment of an industrial investment fund “MEMS Research Institute Investment Center (Limited Partnership)” (hereinafter referred to as “MEMS Investment Center”). The total subscribed capital contribution of the MEMS investment center is 299 million yuan, of which Minxin shares plans to subscribe 90 million yuan with its own funds.

Image source: Minxin shares

The MEMS Investment Center will jointly invest and set up “MEMS Industry Research Institute Co., Ltd.” (tentatively named) with the nano company. The target company will be committed to the research and development of new MEMS processes, new products and the construction of a pilot platform. The proposed registered capital is 300 million yuan, of which “MEMS Investment Center subscribes for 299 million yuan, holding 99.7% of the shares, and Nano Company subscribes. 1 million yuan investment, holding 0.3% of the shares.

Industry trends

7. Lumentum is rumored to acquire laser maker Coherent

On January 18, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, optical component maker Lumentum plans to acquire laser maker Coherent, which will be officially announced as soon as this week. The report said the acquisition will be carried out in cash and stock exchange, and the details of the conditions are not yet known. But at Friday’s closing price, Coherent’s market value was $3.7 billion, and Lumentum was $8 billion.

Image source: The Wall Street Journal

The production scenarios of the two companies range from laser eye surgery to semiconductor manufacturing. Among them, Lumentum mainly manufactures optical components, which are used in cloud network construction, data transmission, and submarine communications. Coherent is a manufacturer of laser products used in medicine, scientific instruments, industrial applications and semiconductor manufacturing. The report said that once combined, the two companies will integrate each other’s resources, reduce costs and meet the increasingly complex needs of customers.

8. Foreign investors are optimistic about Hon Hai’s supply of Apple Car

According to the Economic Daily on January 19, a foreign investment report pointed out that Hon Hai has entered the Apple Car supply chain and is actively rushing to manufacture the components needed by Apple, which is expected to become a long-term operation engine. In an optimistic scenario, 2022 will gradually see the achievements of Hon Hai’s attack on electric vehicles, and the development will be accelerated all the way to 2023.

Image source: Economic Daily

Foreign investors believe that the cooperation between Hon Hai and Geely will not only manufacture automotive components, but also provide comprehensive solutions to establish an electric vehicle ecosystem. With Hon Hai’s long-term OEM experience and huge resources such as Geely’s manufacturing vehicle research and development, they will increase their combat strength and accelerate Hon Hai’s transformation. Foreign investors pointed out that the market has been discussing the possibility of Apple developing an Apple car, and the related prospects are rising. If Apple Cars become a reality, Hon Hai is likely to become a key partner in chassis, components and subsystems, regardless of Hon Hai’s expertise in mechanical and Electronic components or its long-term relationship with Apple.

9. Jiutian Smart Technology Semiconductor Project was officially put into production

On January 18, Jiutian Intelligent Technology (Ningxia) Co., Ltd. announced that the first-phase project with an annual output of 200 million semiconductor modules was officially put into production. In November 2020, Dawukou District signed an investment agreement with Shenzhen Jiutian Infinite Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., a national high-tech enterprise, to establish Jiutian Intelligent Technology (Ningxia) Co., Ltd. to build a first-phase project with an annual output of 200 million semiconductor modules. Human system (machine, ship, vehicle) control, Beidou navigation and positioning, and packaging and testing of photovoltaic semiconductor modules are the production content. High-precision dust-free production workshops and production lines will be built, and a semiconductor Module pilot test center will be built simultaneously.

It is reported that in the next step, Dawukou District plans to plan and build an electronic information industrial park, with Jiutian Intelligent Technology (Ningxia) Co., Ltd. as the industry leader and independent operation, focusing on the development of semiconductor intelligent manufacturing, Beidou and new energy semiconductor devices, and new electronic information materials. , communication electronics, industrial electronic devices, cloud computing, big data and software and hardware product research and development are the main industries

10. Jiangsu will export 199.23 billion integrated circuits in 2020, an increase of 15.9%

On January 18, Nanjing Customs released data showing that in 2020, Jiangsu Province’s foreign trade imports and exports reached 4.45 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.6% over 2019 and 0.7 percentage points higher than the national increase, accounting for 13.8% of my country’s total import and export value during the same period. Among them, exports were 2,744.43 billion yuan, an increase of 0.9%; imports were 1,705.62 billion yuan, an increase of 5.5%.

According to reports, traditional advantageous products, especially technology-intensive products such as integrated circuits, maintain their advantages in exports. In 2020, Jiangsu Province exported 1,834.28 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, an increase of 2.4%, accounting for 66.8% of the total export value of the province. Among them, the export of integrated circuits was 199.23 billion yuan, an increase of 15.9%; the export of notebook computers was 158.58 billion yuan, an increase of 15.2%; the export of mobile phones was 91.67 billion yuan, an increase of 13.5%.

11. Audi announces production cuts due to shortage of automotive chips: 10,000 employees are furloughed

According to the Financial Times report on January 18, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said in an interview that more than 10,000 employees have been furloughed due to a shortage of automotive chips. At the same time, he also said that in the first quarter of this year, Audi will try to reduce the number of cars to be less than 10,000. In Duesmann’s view, the now-spreading new crown epidemic is a crisis for the auto industry, and the time of the chip shortage that broke out at this time is a “crisis within a crisis”.

Image source: Financial Times

In fact, the global automotive industry is in a state of “lack of cores”. Volkswagen Group issued a statement as early as last December saying that due to the impact of the chip supply crisis, the group’s factories in Europe, North America and China are expected to reduce production by 100,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2021. Ford also said it would suspend production at its Saarlouis plant in Germany from Monday until February 19 due to chip shortages and weak demand. In addition, Daimler, BMW, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru and other car companies are also affected by chip shortages.

5G/IOT/AI

12. The number of 5G terminal connections in my country exceeds 200 million

According to People’s Daily Online, Ning Jizhe, director of the National Bureau of Statistics, introduced at a press conference of the State Council Information Office on January 18 that the number of 5G terminal connections in my country has exceeded 200 million, ranking first in the world. Earlier, Wen Ku, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Information and Communication Development Department, said that in 2020, my country will add 580,000 5G base stations, and promote the co-construction and sharing of 330,000 5G base stations. 5G coverage.

“In 2020, my country’s 5G is developing rapidly at an unconventional speed. Online office, distance education, intelligent manufacturing and other fields are advancing by leaps and bounds, and the deep integration of 5G with all walks of life is advancing.” Fu Liang, an independent telecommunications analyst, believes that after more than 20 years of development, my country already has a relatively complete 5G industry chain with relatively large-scale network users. In 2020, my country’s 5G independent networking capabilities have been greatly improved, and some cities have achieved full 5G independent networking coverage, laying a solid foundation for the commercial application of 5G.

stock market sentiment

13. Overview of the semiconductor stock market

Haitong Semiconductor (BI801081) Index

The Haitong Semiconductor (BI801081) index closed today (January 19) at 4927.04, down 1.13%, with a total turnover of 44.559 billion. Among them, 12 were up and 34 were down.

Image source: Haitong e Haitongcai

The largest increase in semiconductors is TOP5

TOP5 with the largest decline in semiconductors

Image source: Haitong e Haitongcai

message side

14. Shanghai Belling’s performance forecast: 2020 net profit will increase by 116%-124% year-on-year

Shanghai Belling announced that the net profit in 2020 is expected to be 520 million-540 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 116%-124%. During the reporting period, the company completed the acquisition of Nanjing Weimeng Electronics Co., Ltd., which is a business combination under the same control and involves restatement of the financial statements for the same period of the previous year.

Image source: Oriental Fortune Network

Shanghai Belling said that during the reporting period, the company’s integrated circuit product business developed well as a whole, and the promotion of new products and new customers achieved good results, which promoted the improvement of the company’s main business performance and overall profitability.