https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/04/09/robust-sales-expected-for-technology-sector

Top picks. MPI and Unisem are the Top Picks for exposure to the sector recovery, given the exposures to the growing demand for power management integrated circuits (ICs) and diverse end applications. Besides, recovery in China’s semiconductor space following two lacklustre years will help to boost of its utilisation rate and economies of scale at their existing plants in China. They also stand to benefit from US-China trade tensions in both of their plants in Malaysia as a neutral ground, as well as from China’s self-sustaining policies.
https://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/rhbinvest/2024-04-01-story-h-184755715-Technology_Positioning_for_the_New_Upcycle_U_G_OVERWEIGHT

Samsung’s profits surge over 900% in first three months of 2024
https://www.bolnews.com/technology/2024/04/samsungs-profits-surge-over-900-in-first-three-months-of-2024/

Samsung makes strong comeback with 931% increase in Q1 earnings
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2024/04/133_372169.html

February semi sales up 16.3% y-o-y
February semiconductor sales of $46.2 billion were up 16.3% on the February 2023 total of $39.7 billion but 3.1% down on January’s $47.6 billion, says the SIA.
https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/838839-2024-04/

February semi sales up 16.3% y-o-y
February semiconductor sales of $46.2 billion were up 16.3% on the February 2023 total of $39.7 billion but 3.1% down on January’s $47.6 billion, says the SIA.
https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/838839-2024-04/

Semiconductor sales up 16.3% to USD 46.2bn in February
The global chip market has just enjoyed its best year-on-year market growth since May 2022, says the Semiconductor Industry Association.
https://evertiq.com/news/55508

Samsung: Tech giant sees profits jump by more than 900%
Samsung Electronics says it expects its profits for the first three months of 2024 to jump more than 10-fold compared to a year earlier.

Samsung: Tech giant sees profits jump by more than 900%
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68738046

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/04/02/semiconductor-sectoron-a-new-upcycle

China's car sales up in Jan. and Feb. on strong EV sales
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240311_33/

Iron Ore Holds Best Weekly Gain Since September on China Outlook
Iron ore held its largest weekly advance in six months on quietly increasing optimism over the chances of an economic recovery in top consumer China..
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-25/iron-ore-holds-best-weekly-gain-since-september-on-china-outlook

Iron Ore Holds Best Weekly Gain Since September on China Outlook
Iron ore held its largest weekly advance in six months on quietly increasing optimism over the chances of an economic recovery in top consumer China.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-25/iron-ore-holds-best-weekly-gain-since-september-on-china-outlook

PHLX Semiconductor (^SOX) was up 2.29% yesterday..

PHLX Semiconductor (^SOX) was up 2.29% yesterday.

Malaysia has secured potential investments from companies such as global semiconductor company Nexperia and X-Fab from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry’s (MITI) recent trip to Germany and France.

These potential investments are reportedly worth RM46 billion and will boost potential Malaysian exports by RM2.4 billion.
https://www.marketing-interactive.com/miti-investments-germany-france-local-brands-succeed-internationally

Samsung Electronics of South Korea announced on March 20 that it expects to generate over $100 million in revenue this year from its advanced semiconductor packaging business. CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, at the annual shareholders' meeting, mentioned that the investment in this newly launched sector is expected to yield results in the latter half of the year. The company aims to achieve profits exceeding its market share in the semiconductor memory business, with a DRAM share of 45.5% in the last quarter of the previous year, according to TrendForce. Samsung is advancing in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production to meet the growing demand driven by AI expansion and is likely to unveil the next-generation HBM4 in 2025, aiming for a comprehensive semiconductor service that meets customer needs by integrating memory, manufacturing, and design operations.

From Zurich to London to Washington, the great inflation scare that gripped the world economy after the pandemic is suddenly no longer keeping central bankers up at night.

Their confidence that raging consumer prices have been tamed is such that the Federal Reserve just defied recent data to keep projecting three interest-rate cuts this year
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-21/rate-cuts-latest-inflation-scare-fades-as-snb-leads-way-for-fed-ecb-boe

US memory chip maker Micron soars after AI growth boosts revenue forecast
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3256203/us-memory-chip-maker-micron-soars-after-ai-growth-boosts-revenue-forecast

Micron's earnings were so good that shares in Western Digital, AMD and other chip stocks were on the rise as well Thursday.

Micron’s Surprise AI Boost Lifts Western Digital, AMD, Seagate, Other Chip Stocks
https://www.barrons.com/articles/micron-stock-western-digital-amd-seagate-cf4087ef?mod=barronsgooglenews

Tech Fund Beating 99% of Peers Says AI Rally Is Just Starting
Valuation levels still look reasonable, Tony Wang says
Fund manager finds better opportunities outside of China
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-21/tech-fund-beating-99-of-peers-says-ai-rally-is-just-starting

Malaysia gains from US-China trade tensions
https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/03/1028636/malaysia-gains-us-china-trade-tensions

US stocks, tech draw record inflows in latest week - Barclays

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Equity funds drew $56.4 billion of inflows in the latest week, driven by record inflows to both U.S. and technology funds, Barclays said in a note on Friday, citing data from EPFR.

Globally, all equity sectors saw inflows, with tech attracting the most on record at $22 billion, while healthcare and financials drew inflows of around $7 billion each, Barclays said..

FT: Amid US-China trade war, neutral Malaysia ‘surprise’ choice for global semiconductor industry

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11— Malaysia has reportedly emerged as an unexpected destination for the global semiconductor industry, inching out the conventional favourite China amid companies’ bid to protect its geopolitical interests.

United Kingdom-based business newspaper Financial Times reported that dozens of companies have set up operations in Peninsular Malaysia in the last 18 months, especially in Penang, such as American chip giants Micron and Intel, European semiconductor companies AMS Osram and Infineon, and Suzhou-based Fengshi Metal Technology.

“It’s a rush. It’s not only Chinese companies [setting up in Penang]. It’s Korean, it’s Japanese, and it is Western.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2024/03/11/ft-amid-us-china-trade-war-neutral-malaysia-surprise-choice-for-global-semiconductor-industry/122820

Malaysia's semiconductor manufacturing flourishes in the face of U.S. and China's Chip War
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/manufacturing/malaysias-semiconductor-manufacturing-flourishes-in-the-face-of-us-and-chinas-chip-war

Chipmakers searching for ‘China plus one’ are finding Malaysia
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/chipmakers-searching-for-china-plus-1-are-finding-malaysia

Malaysia Rises as Crucial Link in Chip Supply Chain
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/business/malaysia-semiconductors.html

Semiconductor sector poised for recovery, riding on AI wave: Rakuten Trade
https://thesun.my/business/semiconductor-sector-poised-for-recovery-riding-on-ai-wave-rakuten-trade-HA12211611

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/03/07/dnex-signs-mou-with-south-korea-based-korea-trade-network

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/03/07/globetronics-inks-deal-with-indias-ksp

Indonesian Stocks Rise to Record on Optimism Over Faster Growth
Materials, infrastructure stocks among the biggest gainers
Central bank to cut rates at end of second quarter: Maybank

China's Jan semiconductor sales growth outpaces global level, as self-sufficiency improves amid US clampdown
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1308245.shtml

Global semicon sales rose 15.2% y-o-y in January to US$47.6 billion, says SIA

SIA said that regionally, year-to-year sales were up in China (26.6%), the Americas (20.3%), and Asia Pacific/All other (12.8%), but down in Japan (-6.4%) and Europe (-1.4%).

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/703422

Global semicon sales rose 15.2% y-o-y in January to US$47.6 billion, says SIA
https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/703422

JHM Consolidation - Commendable Results Despite Adversities; BUY
https://klse.i3investor.com/web/pricetarget/research/70840

I think the worst is over.

The lower revenue was mainly due to lower sales from automotive segment as a result of United Auto Workers strike started in October 2023, some projects was end of life in the current quarter and customers postponing new projects launching into market.

Commentary on Prospects
The continued uncertainties in the global economic environment, escalation of costs due to inflationary pressure and fluctuation of foreign exchange rates are amongst factors that may impact the Group’s performance. Hence, the Group will continue to strive and accord the highest efficiency and innovative means with lean manufacturing and effective costs management as key performance drivers. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Board believes that the Group’s prospects in this financial year ending 31 December 2024 remains positive.

https://www.malaysiastock.biz/Company-Announcement.aspx?id=1541840

Analysts upbeat on MPI's outlook driven by strong market operations
https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/701856

Seagate Will Release 30TB HAMR Hard Drives in Early 2024
https://www.guru3d.com/story/seagate-will-release-30tb-hamr-hard-drives-in-early-2024/

Despite the decreasing cost of SSD storage, HDDs are expected to remain the preferred option for mass storage in data centers for the foreseeable future due to their capacity advantages. Reflecting on the evolution of storage capacities, Seagate's progress is noteworthy, considering they reached a milestone of 16 terabytes only in 2018, and are now poised to double that capacity.

Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) is a groundbreaking technology designed to significantly increase the storage capacity of hard disk drives (HDDs). By using a laser to temporarily heat a small area of the disk, HAMR enables the magnetic recording of data on much smaller regions than was previously possible, leading to a dramatic increase in data density. This technology allows for the potential creation of HDDs with capacities far exceeding current limits, aiming towards drives with 20TB of storage and beyond, with projections reaching up to 100TB by around 2030. HAMR technology operates by focusing a laser's heat on the disk surface, which reduces the coercivity of the material, making it more susceptible to magnetic changes. Once the area cools down, the data is securely stored with high fidelity. Despite the advanced nature of this technology, it is designed to be compatible with existing HDD form factors, ensuring that it can be integrated into current systems without necessitating significant changes to hardware configurations. This compatibility extends to the anticipated running costs of HAMR drives, which are not expected to be significantly higher than those of traditional HDDs, as the laser used in HAMR requires only a small amount of power. The development of HAMR technology by companies like Seagate marks a significant milestone in data storage technology, aiming to meet the growing demand for higher capacity storage solutions in data centers and other applications where massive data storage is essential.

HDD is now on the verge of entering a new phase of growth, thanks to breakthrough technology aimed at increasing its capacity.
This technology is the ultimate form of energy-assisted recording aimed at improving recording density, known as Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR).
Seagate Technology in the United States plans to start mass production of 3.5-inch HDDs for data centers using HAMR by the end of March 2024. The recording
capacity per disk (per platter) is 3TB, and they have developed a product with a capacity of 30TB, named Exos Mozaic 3+, by incorporating 10 disks.

In January 2024, the EU new car market rebounded from the slowdown experienced in December 2023, with year-on-year car registrations increasing by 12.1% to 851,690 units.

Malaysia’s exports recovery expected in 2024
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/malaysias-exports-recovery-expected-in-2024/279836.vnp

Strong start to year as car sales boom in China
Domestic marques rank first in terms of growth, selling 1.12 million vehicles
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202402/19/WS65d2b0c0a31082fc043b7d59.html

In respect of the Group financial position, it remains solid with net cash position. The Group remains mindful on trade receivables collection which was within the normal range of 60 to 90 days and the inventory level which is supportive to subsequent production and delivery requirements.

It is hard to get excited after looking at Kobay Technology Bhd's (KLSE:KOBAY) recent performance, when its stock has declined 27% over the past three months. But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Specifically, we decided to study Kobay Technology Bhd's ROE in this article.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-21/china-stocks-rally-on-quant-fund-clampdown-property-support