Industry Analysis

In Aug 2025, TEJ’s TCRI Webinar reviewed semiconductors, shipping, construction, and manufacturing, outlining key risks and opportunities amid global uncertainty.

In Part 1, we discussed the policy background driving the development of China’s IC design industry, including a comparison of the current status and trend analysis of selected IC firms in both Taiwan and China. In this section, we will further explore the development of the IC design industry from several perspectives, including a comparison of revenue trends between Taiwan and China. Additionally, we will examine the top 10 Taiwanese IC design companies with the highest and lowest R&D investments during the first three quarters of 2024, analyzing the differences in their R&D resource allocation. With the latest and most insightful analysis of the IC industry, you will not miss the hottest trends covered here.

In the field of investment, the "business cycle" has always been an important reference point. Fluctuations in the overall economy, corporate earnings, and market sentiment all show distinct characteristics during different stages of the cycle. Therefore, being able to grasp the movements of the business cycle can help investors more accurately adjust their asset allocations and gain a relative advantage in the market.

With the development of AI applications in recent years, many industries have benefited from it, and Taiwan's semiconductor industry is no exception. However, as the Chinese government continues to follow up and use policies to support local industries, the pressure on Taiwan's IC design companies is increasing day by day. How will Taiwanese manufacturers deal with the threat posed by the rapid rise of Chinese companies? This article is divided into two parts. The first part covers the policy background of China's IC design industry development, and includes a comparison of the current status and trend analysis of selected IC firms in Taiwan and China.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, the world has begun to witness the transformative power of AI. While much of the spotlight remains on ChatGPT, a Chinese AI model has quietly emerged on the global stage—DeepSeek. It boasts a training cost of  just 1/20 of OpenAI’s and 1/10 of Meta’s. Recently, DeepSeek has even received recognition from tech giants including Apple’s Tim Cook, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. This article will explore the impact of "DeepSeek" on Taiwan's electronics industry.

The pandemic reshaped business models, boosting electronic device sales but exposing the drawbacks of LCD and OLED screens, like eye fatigue and weight. E-paper's lightweight, eye-friendly, and sustainable features have fueled its growth, extending from e-readers to the booming demand for electronic labels. This article explores global e-paper trends and opportunities for Taiwanese manufacturers.

According to the latest data compiled from 2023 annual reports of Taiwan's listed companies by TEJ Group Observer, the total asset size of Taiwan's top 100 business groups continues to grow, albeit at a significantly slower pace compared to previous years, with an annual increase of only 3%. Under the influence of the global economic downturn, the revenue and profit figures of these top 100 groups have shown a significant decline compared to 2022, with revenue falling by 7.9% and operating profit plunging by 25%.

With the vigorous development of big data applications and cloud computing, Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) are actively constructing data centers, driving growth in the server market. Especially after OpenAI launched ChatGPT, opportunities in the GenAI sector have flourished, sparking a wave of AI infrastructure development. AI servers, in particular, have seen significant hardware improvements compared to normal servers, even adopting new technologies that increase integration and testing complexity. Some assembly factories, leveraging their technical expertise, have successfully tapped into the AI boom, opening up a new growth opportunity for the EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) industry.

Since 2020, Taiwan’s passive components industry has faced challenges due to intensified competition between the US and China, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russo-Ukrainian war. However, despite these difficulties, both YAGEO (2327.TW) and Walsin Technology (2492.TW) have strategically leveraged different types of mergers and acquisitions to enhance their products, technologies, markets, and customer base. As a result, their revenues and scale have continued to grow. Additionally, with the rise of applications like electric vehicles, 5G/6G internet, and AI-driven products, Taiwanese manufacturers are seizing opportunities across various domains.

In 2023, under inflation, high interest rates, and excessive inventory level, the demand for consumer electronics products weakened, resulting in a sustained decline in the panel industry. The touch panel sector also faced profit erosion due to competition. Consequently, touch panel manufacturers have been actively diversifying into new business areas, despite the impact still remains relatively low at present. This article will briefly outline Taiwan’s touch panel industry’s new business plans, progress, and the industry outlook for the first half of 2024.

With the advancement of technology, the amount of data computers need to process has become increasingly massive. The transmission speed of computers in the past has become insufficient to meet the demands of next-generation high-speed computing. Therefore, when faster transmission interface specifications are introduced, high-speed transmission IC design companies must also increase their investment in developing related products. However, in recent years, high-speed transmission IC design companies have experienced declining revenues and profits. After a two-year inventory adjustment period, by the second half of 2023, most manufacturers’ inventories have returned to a healthier level. Additionally, with inflation gradually cooling down and the surge in AI demand, terminal demand is expected to gradually recover. This article will introduce you to the high-speed transmission IC design industry and provide insights into the latest trends in the IC industry.

Satellite communication, offering broader coverage, is seen as a complementary communication method.