Hey everyone! This is your Techasia host, Cheng Ting-Fang, and greet you from Taipei!
I just returned from a short trip to Hong Kong. There, we attended a gala dinner and an awards ceremony. I look forward to sharing some great news with you: Nikkei Asia has been awarded the Top Award in Technology Reports from the Association of Publishers of Asia (SOPA), a well-known competition that places us alongside the biggest global news publications such as Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.
I vividly remember this award-winning reporting journey. It was a lot of the hard work and collaborations with my incredible colleagues. A small anecdote I want to share includes the submarine cable maps we produced, tracking China’s investment and involvement in submarine cables dating back to the 1990s. The project began by digging into the Chinese government and telecom documents decades ago to identify all cables that involve Chinese participation. Next, we needed real, raw map data to allow the art team to visualize and explain these cables.
At one point, the project was almost dead when it discovered that it would cost $20,000, well beyond the budget for map data. However, after discussing strategies with my colleagues, I was nervously able to take on the role of a sourcing specialist and negotiate the price for around $800 with just the data I needed. Lauly Li, Tabeta Shunsuke, Tsubasa Suruga and I have interviewed several Chinese and foreign executives in various places, gaining insights from within the Chinese and Southeast Asia’s submarine cable sector, but the perspectives were rare in global media.
Another outstanding project is the mapping of China’s electronics supply chain, highlighting the regions that have built competitive alternatives for global leaders. Looking back at the six years since Huawei was added to the US entity list, it’s surprising how much the global supply chain has changed, and how quickly China’s localized drives have left.
The launch of that feature wasn’t as smooth as we’d hoped. That coincided with breaking the news that Nissan and Honda were in merger talks, facing a technical glitches that prevented our graphics from appearing properly for the first 50 hours. But once that was resolved, we received great feedback from the industry on the depth and details of the reporting.
The third story in the package examined how China built a competitive, advanced display industry previously dominated by Samsung.
In Taiwan, there is a proverb “eating sugarcane from the bottom up.” And another familiar line sums up my feelings. “Every clouds have a silver lining.”
I would like to express my deep gratitude to our art team led by Minjung Kim and Michael Tsang for changing our raw research and reporting on clear and powerful graphics that readers find consistently valuable. We also thank our high-tech editors Katherine Creel and the entire editorial team at Nikkei Asia for their endless support and collaboration to make these projects possible.
Hong Kong has always brought back fond memories. I hadn’t returned to town since 2019 before Covid, but in some respects I felt like I was stepping into a time capsule, especially in terms of digital technology. For example, most taxis still only take cash. There are no apple payments or credit cards. We were lucky to find the remaining Hong Kong dollars in our old wallet before our trip.
After the awards ceremony, I joined the Financial Times of the Foreign Correspondents Club with a colleague from Nikkei. Over a late-night drink, I remembered Hong Kong once was the most important hub of international media. While many outlets have moved their staff to Singapore, Seoul or Taipei due to changes in geopolitics, the landscapes of the port and historic architecture speak a lot about the city’s vibrant, good old days.
Cutting-edge concerns
Taiwanese and South Korean chipmakers are looking for the next driver of growth amid the uncertainty of the global macroeconomic. United Microelectronics Corp, Taiwan’s second largest contract chip manufacturer, is assessing whether it should enter cutting-edge chip production, written by Nikkei Asia’s Cheng Ting-Fang. The UMC CFO confirmed that the company is investigating more advanced chip production, but noted that partnering with others to share the burden of investment is a key strategy.
UMC is focusing on Chip Production Tech, which is as sophisticated as 6nm, the level currently dominated by TSMC, Samsung and Intel, sources said.
Meanwhile, Samsung is still looking for new plants customers in the US, reports from Kim Jae Won and Chen Ting Hwang. The world’s second-largest contracted chipmaker is building a cutting-edge fab in Taylor, Texas, and says it will begin production in 2026, four years after construction begins. Sources say Samsung is still not protecting enough customers to take advantage of the planned capacity, which means Samsung is restricting the installation of equipment.
UMC and Samsung, like many other chip makers, face increasing pressure from China’s top chip maker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.
Signal of inheritance for son
The son of Softbank founder Masayoshi dropped his biggest hints on the future leadership of the technology conglomerate, which he began over 40 years ago, writes David Keohane of the Financial Times.
The son, who showed he was willing to take charge for another decade, said his successor was already someone who worked by his side at Softbank.
“It’s a matter of timing to declare when these two, or decide that three or four are candidates, and I don’t want them to be overly confident or qualified. I also have the desire to stay a little longer, so I’m going to manage that delicate balance,” my son told the group’s annual meeting in Tokyo.
His son has done a “very good job” with Miyakawa, the head of Softbank Corp, the group’s listed communications unit, and mentioned that he placed great trust.
People close to the group denied showing Miyagawa lined up in top positions. Instead, they said he was given an example of how his son had already entrusted a vital part of the business.
Cat ears, squared, or humanoid?
Robots are becoming the next big thing in the tech industry, but their approaches vary. Japan is focusing on practical, task-specific automation, particularly in the sectors such as restaurants and office maintenance, writes Ryohtaroh Satoh of Nikki Asia. Fuji Keizai, a Tokyo-based research firm, estimates that the domestic service robot market will more than double from 2024 to 2030, reaching 400 million yen ($2.7 billion), surpassing industrial robots.
Meanwhile, Apple’s supplier Foxlink aims to move from traditional electronic component manufacturers to AI Robotics Solutions providers by 2030. Freddy Kou, head of Robotics Division, told Nikkei Asia’s Lauly Li. The purpose of this move is to diversify revenue, reduce exposure to home appliance volatility, and leverage AI growth. Foxlink is investing in AI-powered robots for security and industrial automation, leveraging Nvidia’s platform to accelerate development.
Byd vs Tesla
Nikkei Asia writes Yifan Yu, with BYD continuing to lead global electric vehicle sales, surpassing its major US rival Tesla over the third quarter.
The companies faced industry-wide headwinds, including strengthening competition in China and increasing macroeconomic uncertainty. However, BYD’s freight increased by 42.5% in the April-June quarter year, driven by some price cuts, while Tesla’s sales fell by around 13%. The US company faces several unique challenges: an increasingly tense relationship with CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.
Suggested Reading
The US lifts curb of selling chip design tools to China in trade talks (Nickey Asia)
Amazon developers are making headlines for human-like robots (Nikkei Asia).
When Tesla faces Robotaxi and Trump’s uncertainty (Nikkei Asia) faces, BYD holds the EV crown
Encrypted Investors Make Korea the best performing market (FT) in Asia
Donald Trump says he found a group of “wealthy people” to buy Tiktok (ft)
Asian factories (FT) at the forefront of Trump’s tariffs
Malaysia is trying to boost VCs with new funds, tax incentives (Nichi-West Asia)
Vulnerability (FT) to suppress Chinese industry
Japanese utilities will pour billions of dollars into the grid amid data center growth (Nickey Asia)
When Trump closes tax loopholes, our shoppers abandon the scene and tem (ft)
#Techasia is coded at Katherine Creel, Nikkei Asia in Tokyo, with support from FT Tech Desk in London.
Sign up with Nikkei Asia to receive your #Techasia weekly here. The editorial team can be contacted at techasia@nex.nikkei.co.jp
