Technology Sector 03 (Dec 24 - Dec 27)

[winston]

Malaysia Tech: Still uneven, but opportunities remain

Maintain NEUTRAL

We expect the local semicon sector’s growth to skew towards AI/DC related demand, while legacy sector, automotive, would continue to face downside risks in 2026, despite recent signs of stabilisation.

We favour front-end–exposed names which offer a broader based proxy to AI growth given limited AI exposure at the back-end.

Our top tech BUYs are Frontken & Northeast.

Within software, we like ITMAX & Ramssol.

While we are cautious on EMS, we favour ATech. Maintain NEUTRAL on the tech sector.

Source: Maybank

https://mkefactsettd.maybank-ke.com/PDFS/506049.pdf

[winston]

2026 outlook: Volatility, Validity, Value - Regional Technology

2026 is anticipated to further extend the semiconductor upcycle, with semiconductor revenue growth of 32.6%/12.6% in 2026/27

We foresee a longer memory cycle; prefer backend equipment makers and advanced packaging. Our pick: TSMC

Premiumisation and increasing adoption of foldables to drive consumer tech upside. We like: BYDE, Sunny Optical, Lenovo, Lens Tech

UMS and Frencken well positioned to benefit from semiconductor uptrend and firmer downstream recovery

Source: DBS

https://www.dbs.com/insightsdirect/land ... rtid=44098

[winston]

Metaverse is out, while AI does the laundry: CES 2026's biggest tech

Samsung demonstrated AI that can recognise the laundry you put in a washing machine and select the right programme.

LG showcased a humanoid robot that neatly folds dried clothes with the help of AI.

Bosch unveiled an AI-controlled hob that cooks steaks like a master chef.

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang shared the chipmaker’s ambitions to use AI to help power a fleet of robotaxis.

Lego unveiled a new interactive Smart Brick, which looks like a standard 2 × 4 Lego piece but is packed with miniaturised tech, including a battery, sensors for light, acceleration and sound, a speaker and a tiny synthesiser.

Bosch's engineers can simulate entire plants in real time, train robots virtually and solve problems before the real facility is built.

Manufacturers, mainly from China, are pursuing different strategies to notch up sales with their "smart glasses".

Source: Tribune News Service

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-ne ... ggest-tech

[winston]

vested in 3033

China’s worst tech earnings in three years signal tough comeback

Earnings for the 30-member Hang Seng Tech Index fell 30 per cent in the three months through December 2025, compared with a year ago.

That’s the worst performance since 2022, when profits were hurt by regulations on the tech sector and a weak recovery in consumer spending following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The index of Hong Kong-listed tech firms is down 14 per cent this year and on the verge of wiping out all its gains since the DeepSeek breakthrough.

Analysts’ forward estimated earnings per share is down 9 per cent in March, as hyperscalers like Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding reveal hits from massive AI spending.

“Continued price wars in the quick commerce sector, the rising cost of memory chips, deteriorating capex and monetisation balance, and broader demand and margin questions surrounding the Iran shock are key issues for investors” .

Source: Reuters

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/compan ... h-comeback

[behappyalways]

AI-powered glasses navigation enables a visually impaired British runner to complete a 42km marathon ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2rnqwTrmTE4

[winston]

Malaysia: echnology (OVERWEIGHT)
When chip prices are up

We note that nearly all major analog IC suppliers have issued price adjustment notices (5-30%, effective 2Q26) over the past month — a rare, synchronised move that we view as a positive read-through for Malaysian OSATs.

Channel checks suggest select OSATs are already engaging customers on potential price increases from 2Q26, with a higher likelihood of successful pass-through supported by tight global back-end capacity and ongoing China+1 tailwinds.

Following the 1Q26 selloff, sector valuations have also partly reset to more compelling levels.

As such, we upgrade the Malaysian tech sector to Overweight (from Neutral), underpinned by an improving pricing environment and growing exposure to AI data centres within analog semi.

Our top picks remain ITMAX, UWC and Frontken, with Unisem and Inari Amertron also on our BUY list.

Source: HLIB

[behappyalways]

China announces six key industries for the future, including quantum computing and nuclear fusion.

中公佈未來六大產業 包括量子運算 核融合【短篇】#TVBS文茜的財經周報 20260503

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d62sPu7ejq0

[winston]

Technology (OVERWEIGHT)
Charging ahead with power semi

After sitting out the AI upcycle in 2024-2025, Malaysian OSATs have now reached their inflection point in 2026, as AI DC power semi emerges as the new demand driver for the analog suppliers.

Two major shifts drive this:

1) NVIDIA's transition to 800VDC architecture to support the step-change in rack power requirements, alongside rising SiC/GaN usage given their superior efficiency in high-voltage workloads; and

2) wider adoption of vertical power delivery at the compute-board level.

The thesis is playing out faster than we flagged early this year, with the analog supply chain tightening and IDMs raising prices ahead of the 800VDC ramp.

Maintain OVERWEIGHT, with UWC, Frontken, Unisem and ITMAX as our top picks.

Source: HLIB

[winston]

The Boom Loop

Start with the chips.

Nvidia put up another huge quarter -- almost $82 billion of revenue in a single quarter, more than ten times its revenue of three years ago (and guided to $91 billion for the next). Its CFO told the market AI infrastructure spending is now on track to reach three to four trillion dollars a year by the end of the decade.

Those chips have to be built.

Taiwan Semiconductor, which manufactures the most advanced ones in the world, reported a 20% jump in revenue in a single month and greenlit $45 billion in new capacity.

The chips can't compute without memory.

Micron posted $23.9 billion in its most recent quarter, up 196% from a year earlier, and guided to a record $33.5 billion quarter at margins near 80%. Moreover, Micron has already sold out its entire 2026 production of these chips, under binding contracts. This week, the valuation crossed $1 trillion.

The chips also produce oceans of data that needs to be stored.

SanDisk reported $3 billion in a quarter and then followed it with a $5.9 billion quarter — a near doubling of revenue in ninety days.

Then the data has to be organized and put to work.

This week, Snowflake (the data-cloud company) reported product revenue of $1.33 billion, up 34%, the strongest quarterly dollar growth in its history. It raised full-year guidance, signed a $6 billion infrastructure deal with Amazon, and told us the number of customers using its AI tools jumped from 9,100 to 13,600 in a single quarter. The stock rose 37% in a day.

The AI applications need a database to run on.

MongoDB just reported revenue up 25%, its cloud database growing 29%, as it positions itself as the working memory for the coming wave of AI agents. It raised guidance too. The stock trading up as much as 36%.

And all of it has to run on servers.

Today, Dell reported an AI server backlog of $43 billion, after AI-server revenue grew 342% last year. It raised its target for this year toward $60 billion. The stock rose 40%.

This is the boom loop we've been describing, broadening across the entire AI stack -- which should broaden across the entire economy.

Source: Forbes

[behappyalways]

The End Of Digital Trust: How Quantum Computing Could Upend Security, Business, & Global Stability
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/en ... -stability


Monolithic 3D Silicon Chips Achieve Near-Perfect Yields At Low Temperatures
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/mo ... mperatures