Page 156 - CW E-Magazine (25-2-2025)

News from Abroad

REORGANISATION
Japan’s Sumco to end silicon wafer production

at Miyazaki plant

Japanese semiconductor firm, Sumco capacity as manufacturing
Corporation, has announced plans to equipment reaches its end of
transfer wafer production from the life.
Miyazaki plant of its subsidiary, Sumco
Techxiv, to other manufacturing facili- In this backdrop, Sumco
ties, as it moves to improve profitability has decided to reorganise the
by reorganising the production of Miyazaki plant to improve effi-
silicon wafers of 200-mm and smaller. ciency through consolidation
of the production capacity of
The current silicon wafer market small wafers. The Miyazaki
environment is in a prolonged sluggish plant will become a factory
demand phase brought about by drop- ally thanks to strong needs for lead- solely for monocrystalline production,
off from extraordinary demand during ing-edge products for AI semiconduc- while wafer production will be trans-
the COVID-19 pandemic, and structural tors and high-performance memory,” ferred to other domestic plants in the
changes in the semiconductor supply the company said. However, demand Sumco Group and to Indonesia, ending
chain caused by US-China friction. for small-diameter wafers mainly for wafer production in Miyazaki by the
consumer, industrial, and automotive end of 2026.
“Drawdown of 300-mm wafer uses, has remained sluggish. Wafers
inventories by customers is taking of 150-mm and smaller, in particular, Sumco intends to reassign employees
time, as semiconductor production are expected to see falling demand, affected by the reorganisation to
adjustments continue; but overall with customers shifting to 200-mm 300-mm wafer operations after the end
demand is expected to recover gradu- wafers or lowering their production of wafer production in Miyazaki.

TRADING TROUBLES
EU proposes anti-dumping duties on epoxy resin

imports from China and other countries

The European Union (EU) had in a 30.3% dumping margin, with similar
July last year initiated an anti-dumping harm thresholds.
investigation concerning the import of
epoxy resins from China, South Korea, In Taiwan, Changchun Synthetic
Taiwan, and Thailand. The European Resin Factory Co., Ltd. has a dump-
Commission has provided a summary ing margin of 10.8%, while Nanya
of the proposed temporary tariffs, are also implicated in this investiga- Plastics Corporation is slightly higher
which is now available for reference. tion. Notably, the Sinochem Group, at 11%.
which includes Jiangsu Yangnong Jinhu
Among the companies under scrutiny, Chemical Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Ruiheng In Thailand, Aditya Birla Chemi-
China’s Jiangsu Sanmu Group Co., Ltd. New Material Technology Co., Ltd., cals (Thailand) Ltd. is facing a 32.1%
faces a dumping margin of 24.2%, and Nantong Xingchen Synthetic dumping margin. All other companies
with a harm threshold of 116%. This Materials Co., Ltd., has a dumping from Thailand are also subject to this
means that the company is significantly margin of 40.8% and a harm threshold rate. Interestingly, the investigation
undercutting prices. of 118.9%. Companies such as Zhanxin found that South Korean companies are
Resin (China) Co., Ltd. and Changchun not engaging in dumping, resulting
Several other Chinese companies Chemical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. also face in no proposed duties for them.

156 Chemical Weekly February 25, 2025

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