South Korean media: SMIC's strong momentum shakes Samsung Electronics' second place in the foundry industry. In the global semiconductor foundry market, Samsung Electronics, which ranks second, is being fiercely chased by third-ranked Chinese SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation). The market share gap between Samsung Electronics and leading TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) was already significant, and now its second-place position is under threat. According to a report released by market research firm TrendForce on the 9th, the total sales of the top ten foundries in the world reached $36.403 billion (approximately 49 trillion won) in the first quarter this year, down 5.4% from $38.482 billion (approximately 52 trillion won) in the previous quarter. TrendForce explained that "although the first quarter is usually a seasonal low season, the increase in customer orders due to the upcoming deadline for U.S. tariff exemptions, combined with the lingering effects of last year's Chinese consumer subsidy policies, partially offset the decline." The problem lies in market share. Samsung Electronics, caught between first and third place, faces an even more perilous situation. TSMC ranked first, with first-quarter sales of $25.517 billion (approximately 35 trillion won), a 5% decrease from the previous quarter, but its market share increased by 0.5 percentage points to 67.6%. On the contrary, Samsung Electronics' first-quarter sales were $2.893 billion (approximately 4 trillion won), down 11.3% from the previous quarter, and its market share dropped from 8.1% to 7.7%, declining by 0.4 percentage points. TrendForce analyzed that "the decline in Samsung's foundry business is due to limited Chinese subsidy benefits and the impact of U.S. advanced process export controls." Its market share gap with the first-ranked TSMC widened from 59 percentage points in the previous quarter to 59.9 percentage points. While Samsung Electronics is struggling, SMIC continues to chase aggressively. In the first quarter, SMIC's sales reached $2.247 billion (approximately 3 trillion won), up 1.8% from the previous quarter, making it the only company among the top three to achieve growth. It is reported that SMIC benefited from pre-stocking to cope with U.S. tariffs and Chinese subsidy policies, and its market share rose from 5.5% to 6%, increasing by 0.5 percentage points. This narrowed the gap with Samsung Electronics from 2.6 percentage points in the fourth quarter of last year to 1.7 percentage points. The report predicts that as tax avoidance demand decreases, the overall foundry market will slow down in the second quarter. However, China's subsidy demand, stockpiling trends before the release of new smartphone models, and high-performance computing demands are expected to support the capacity utilization rate of the top ten foundries. Source: JoongAng Ilbo Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834540355786764/ Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's viewpoint.