2024/08/15 The intensifying COVID-19 situation in Southeast Asia has further tightened MOSFET supply

The intensifying COVID-19 situation in Southeast Asia has further tightened MOSFET supply

 

Recently, the pandemic in Southeast Asia has worsened, and lockdowns have been reported in Vietnam and Malaysia, impacting the semiconductor supply chain. Major companies like Renesas, Infineon, and Toshiba have also affected manpower at their Southeast Asian factories. Among them, MOSFET (Metal-Oxide Half-Field Effect Transistor) supply has tightened, widening the gap and extending delivery times, potentially triggering a new wave of price increases. Institutional investors are optimistic about Jieli (5299), Taichung (6435), Nexen (3317), and Fuding (8261), all expected to see strong operations in the second half of the year.

MOSFETs are mainly delivered at 8-inch wafer foundries. Due to severe tight 8-inch wafer capacity, foundry prices have risen, and MOSFET prices have also risen. Jieli's June revenue reached a record high of 250 million NTD, marking four consecutive months of record-high. Q2 revenue of 700 million NTD also set a new single-quarter record. Currently, some Jieli customers have begun negotiating orders for next year. To meet customer demand, Jieli continues to negotiate capacity with foundries, hoping to increase capacity next year compared to this year.

Jieli specializes in the laptop market, benefiting from the boost from remote work, which led to a surge in shipments of commercial models. Demand remained strong throughout the year, while actively expanding into non-laptop markets, including small appliances and smart home devices. Institutional investors estimate that the continued rise in MOSFET prices will help Jieli's third-quarter operations and potentially set new historical highs.

Due to product price increases and higher gross margins, Nexon's preliminary earnings per share after tax for June surged by 4,000% compared to the same period last year. Institutional investors noted that the MOSFET industry is expected to perform well in the third quarter, but supply will still fall short of demand in the fourth quarter, so it is advisable to closely monitor future price changes.