Samsung Electronics has replaced the head of its Visual Display (VD) business in a rare mid-cycle reshuffle, responding to weakening demand and intensifying global competition in the television market.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are both riding a historic memory upcycle, but a profit gap of about KRW15 trillion (approx. US$10 billion) has opened between the two Korean chipmakers, driven largely by commodity DRAM rather than high-bandwidth memory (HBM), according to Sedaily.

BenQ Materials is accelerating its expansion into semiconductor materials as its subsidiary Cenefom officially begins operations at its new Guangyuan plant. The facility’s chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) brush wheels have entered the Taiwan supply chain of a major memory manufacturer.

Microcontroller (MCU) maker Holtek announced it has raised prices on low-margin MCUs following wafer foundry and packaging cost hikes in China at the end of 2025. This price adjustment has since driven order inflows for touch MCUs and other products. Holtek expects strong growth momentum in the security and health segments in the first half of 2026, with some orders already visible up to six months ahead. The company is also advancing the development of brushless DC motor (BLDC) products and external laser optical communication modules targeting AI servers.