Foxconn Frenzy; Xiaomi EV Launch; Philippines Chip Drive

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Chinese Investors are Crazy for Foxconn

The Shanghai share price of Foxconn Industrial Internet [601138:SS], the Taiwan-headquartered semiconductor firm, has more than doubled since mid-January, buoyed by the ongoing frenzy for all things artificial intelligence-related (AI). In China, the firm has so far this year outperformed the leading domestic chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International [688981:SS], which has dropped 9%. Expectations are high ahead of Foxconn’s earnings call this week.

Xiaomi Jumps on Announcement

Xiaomi [1810:HK] is to begin selling electric vehicles (EV) next month; its share price was up as much as 9.9% in Hong Kong on the news. Its SU7 series will go on sale on 28 March in 29 cities. The launch comes as the Chinese EV market is looking increasingly cut-throat. EV leader BYD [BYDDY] recently overtook Tesla [TSLA] as the top EV brand, but is facing challenges in its global expansion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

US to Boost Philippines Chip Drive

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Tuesday said the US will help the Philippines double its semiconductor facilities. “Why do we allow ourselves to be buying so many of our chips from one or two countries?” Raimondo asked: “That’s why we need to diversify.” South Korea’s Samsung [005930:KS] and SK Hynix [000660:KS] have started warehousing rather than selling used chipmaking equipment, the Financial Times reported, in light of US export controls.

Volvo Battery Investment

On Tuesday, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Volvo’s [VOLV-B:ST] corporate venture capital arm, said it has invested an undisclosed sum in British start-up Breathe Battery Technologies. Volvo hopes Breathe’s software will cut charging time for its next generation of EVs by 30%. Elsewhere, Tesla’s gigafactory near Berlin has come back online after a week-long outage, caused by an arson attack which has been claimed by a far-left activist group.

Intel Holds on to China License

Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] has failed to make US President Joe Biden revoke Intel’s [INTC] license to sell chips to Huawei for use in laptops. AMD argued it was unfair that they did not have a similar license. This means Huawei will be able to keep a small share of the global laptop market, Reuters reported, while AMD will lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.