Understanding the Market | Chip stocks continue to rise, reports say Taiwan Semiconductor plans to raise prices, leading wafer fabs may raise prices due to tight capacity

According to the information from the Wise Finance APP, chip stocks continue to rise recently. As of the time of publication, Hua Hong Semiconductor (06908) rose by 3.7% to HKD 0.42; Shanghai Fudan (01385) rose by 2.89% to HKD 13.54; SMIC (00981) rose by 2.5% to HKD 18.06; HUA HONG SEMI (01347) rose by 1.94% to HKD 23.7.

On the news front, it was reported by the media that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) plans to raise prices. The price increase for 3nm foundry services may be over 5%, and advanced packaging prices for next year are also expected to increase by about 10%-20%. TSMC's 3nm production capacity is fully booked by seven major customers including Apple and NVIDIA, with demand outstripping supply, and orders are expected to be full until 2026.

In addition, some semiconductor industry insiders have indicated that the production capacity of wafer fabs such as SMIC and HUA HONG has been fully utilized for several months, and there is no longer a willingness to negotiate price reductions in the near future. Another industry expert mentioned that although terminal demand has somewhat recovered this year, there has not been significant fluctuations overall. However, since March, driven by the demand for AI computing power and rush orders from several major factories, there has been a large and widespread product demand, leading to tight capacity at the top wafer fabs. Morgan Stanley stated that HUA HONG SEMI's wafer fab utilization rate has exceeded 100%, so there may be a 10% increase in wafer prices in the second half of the year