Which bullish catalysts are supporting the Hong Kong semiconductor stocks against the market trend? What are the highlights of the record-breaking global semiconductor sales?
Finance and Economics News on November 8th (Editor: Feng Yi) Today, the Hong Kong stock market opened high and adjusted with a strong atmosphere, but semiconductor stocks showed strength against the market trend.
As of the time of publication, ASM Pacific Technology (02149.HK), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981.HK) both rose more than 2%, with AV Concept Holdings (00595.HK) following the upward trend.
On the news front, the impressive performance growth of the industry leaders Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Hua Hong Semi in the third quarter reports has sparked market enthusiasm and attention towards semiconductor stocks.
According to the financial report, in the third quarter, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's revenue rose by 14% compared to the previous quarter, reaching $2.17 billion, a historical high. The company also guided that the fourth-quarter revenue is expected to remain flat to up 2%; Hua Hong Semi reported a 222.6% year-on-year increase in net income attributable to shareholders to $44.8 million in the third quarter.
In addition, sources revealed that the U.S. government is intensively negotiating and seeking to finalize agreements related to semiconductor bills with companies such as Intel and Samsung Electronics before the end of Biden's term.
It is understood that the U.S. Department of Commerce has disbursed over 90% of the $39 billion subsidy under the "2022 Chips and Science Act", and companies like Taiwan Semiconductor and GlobalFoundries have concluded negotiations, with the final allocation results expected to be announced soon.
It is worth noting that due to the huge investment scale of the bill, which involves tax credits, research funding authorization, and restrictions on some foreign companies in addition to subsidies, it will have a profound impact on the global semiconductor industry currently in a recovery phase.
According to analyst Yang Zhong's report on November 7th by Huafu Securities, SIA data shows that global semiconductor sales in the third quarter reached $166 billion, a 23.2% year-on-year increase and a 10.7% increase from the previous quarter. The quarterly sales growth rate is the highest since 2016. In September, global semiconductor sales hit an all-time monthly sales record, reaching $55.3 billion.
The latest data also shows that Taiwan Semiconductor's sales in October reached NT$314.24 billion, a 29.2% year-on-year increase and a 24.8% increase from the previous month, achieving a new high in monthly revenue.
Looking at various data sources, the global semiconductor industry is experiencing strong momentum and continues to thrive on the demand side, particularly driven by the AI trend.