United Airlines Flight to Tokyo Returns to Dulles After Engine Failure During Takeoff 
Nomura Expands Alternative Assets Strategy With Focus on Private Debt Acquisitions 
Korea Zinc Plans $6.78 Billion U.S. Smelter Investment With Government Partnership 
Evercore Reaffirms Alphabet’s Search Dominance as AI Competition Intensifies 
SpaceX Begins IPO Preparations as Wall Street Banks Line Up for Advisory Roles 
Rio Tinto Signs Interim Agreement With Yinhawangka Aboriginal Group Over Pilbara Mining Operations 
Moore Threads Stock Slides After Risk Warning Despite 600% Surge Since IPO 
Strategy Retains Nasdaq 100 Spot Amid Growing Scrutiny of Bitcoin Treasury Model 
Coca-Cola’s Costa Coffee Sale Faces Uncertainty as Talks With TDR Capital Hit Snag 
SoftBank Shares Slide as Oracle’s AI Spending Plans Fuel Market Jitters 
Intel’s Testing of China-Linked Chipmaking Tools Raises U.S. National Security Concerns 
Air Force One Delivery Delayed to 2028 as Boeing Faces Rising Costs 
Coca-Cola’s Proposed Sale of Costa Coffee Faces Uncertainty Amid Price Dispute 
Woolworths Faces Fresh Class Action Over Alleged Underpayments, Shares Slide 
Trello Outage Disrupts Users as Access Issues Hit Atlassian’s Work Management Platform 
Apple App Store Injunction Largely Upheld as Appeals Court Rules on Epic Games Case 
JD.com Pledges 22 Billion Yuan Housing Support for Couriers as China’s Instant Retail Competition Heats Up 
Chinese chipmakers reportedly turn to Malaysian companies for chip assembly deals as fears of U.S. sanctions intensify. A growing number of China-based chip design firms are reportedly tapping into companies in Malaysia to handle the assembling process of their high-end chips.
The chip firms are said to be taking this step to limit risks in case the United States widens its sanctions on China's semiconductor industry. The companies are asking chip packaging enterprises to assemble graphics processing units (GPUs) for them to complete their production processes.
Assembly Deal Requests
This information was shared by three individuals who are familiar with the discussions regarding the matter. As per Reuters, the deal requests only comprise assembly, a production process that does not breach any U.S. restrictions.
The Chinese firms are not requesting other jobs such as fabrication of the chip wafers. They reiterated that they only need chip assembly for GPUs. In a positive development, it was said that some companies have successfully secured contracts already. However, sources declined to identify the companies involved since the agreements are confidential.
The U.S. Restrictions
WION News reported that the increased restrictions by U.S. officials are limiting China's access to advanced GPUs, which are important components in artificial intelligence and military applications. The sanctions have left minor Chinese chip design firms fighting to obtain enough supply of advanced packaging services locally. This made the firms turn to Malaysian firms for these essential services.
Meanwhile, it was mentioned that Unisem, which is mainly owned by China-based Huatian Technology firm, and other chip packaging firms in Malaysia have received more business proposals and inquiries from Chinese customers. Despite possible concerns over the reactions, it was said that Unisem's business dealings are not affected because they are fully legitimate and compliant with the operation requirements.
Photo by: Vishnu Mohanan/Unsplash
