Order the brand new: Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Buds FE or Galaxy SmartTag 2023! Smartphone of the year Galaxy S23 Ultra!

SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics shuts down HDI operations in China

Business
By 

Last updated: December 12th, 2019 at 16:41 UTC+01:00

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is going to shut down its HDI (high-density interconnected) printed circuit board manufacturing unit in Jiangsu, China, due to low profitability, reveals a report by The Korea Herald.

Its HDI unit in China will stop producing and selling products, and the company will begin selling its assets instead. Unsurprisingly, the main reason behind Samsung Electro-Mechanics' low profitability in China lies with strong competition from local suppliers who can afford to undercut Samsung.

Samsung keeps losing ground to Chinese rivals

HDI printed circuit boards are used by various products, ranging from laptops to smartphones. The company's HDI unit in Jiangsu has been bleeding cash, and news of its shutdown comes just a couple of months after Samsung decided to pull the plug on its smartphone manufacturing operations in China. This only shows just how competitive local companies can be, and further accentuates Samsung's lack of influence in the Chinese mobile space.

However, sources suggest that Samsung Electro-Mechanics has been looking to shelve its HDI business as a whole, not only in China but in other markets as well. This doesn't seem to be entirely the case, or at least not for the time being. As opposed to closing its HDI operations in Busan, South Korea, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has been moving its production line to Vietnam.

HDI technology is not as good as SLP

While it may seem like Samsung Electro-Mechanics is taking a big hit by shutting down its HDI operations in Jiangsu, China (and it very well might), there still is the matter of SLP technology to consider. SLP is a more advanced printed circuit board manufacturing method and it was first employed by the Galaxy S9. SLP packages are more compact and allow for larger batteries and/or better internal components for smartphones.

With that in mind, Samsung Electro-Mechanics' decision to shut down its HDI operations in China doesn't look as doomy and gloomy. The overall demand for HDI PCBs may have slowed down because of the advancements brought forth by SLP, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics is one of the companies that are able to manufacture SLP boards. In other words – and while this wasn't officially confirmed – the company might feel like it needs to focus less on HDI and more on other, more modern solutions. Should this be the case, Samsung Electro-Mechanics might be cooking a longer-term plan to bolster its revenues by focusing less on HDI and more on SLP manufacturing.

Business ChinaSamsung Electro-Mechanics

You might also like

iPhone 15 series might be in trouble in China and not because of Samsung

iPhone 15 series might be in trouble in China and not because of Samsung

Apple is one of the most prominent mobile players in China, and that's something Samsung can't say about itself. But despite Apple seemingly climbing the food pyramid in China over the years, the iPhone 15 series might underperform. The iPhone maker is reportedly seeing a slump in sales for the iPhone 15 series in China, […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 10 hours ago
Samsung might have a problem as Canon unveils 5nm chip tech

Samsung might have a problem as Canon unveils 5nm chip tech

Samsung Foundry and TSMC are the only firms in the world that can make advanced semiconductor chips using 7nm or better fabrication technologies. Both these firms buy ultra-expensive chip manufacturing equipment from ASML, a Netherlands-based firm that makes EUV lithography systems. However, a new player has now emerged in the chip fabrication equipment space: Canon. […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 15 hours ago
Samsung won’t need prior approval from the US to upgrade chip factories in China

Samsung won’t need prior approval from the US to upgrade chip factories in China

The US government has now allowed South Korean semiconductor chip firms, including Samsung and SK Hynix, to upgrade their chip factories in China using equipment and technologies developed in the US. Now, Samsung won't need to get prior approvals from the US government, which was the case earlier. Samsung can upgrade chip manufacturing equipment at […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 1 week ago
US may lift import restrictions on chip equipment to Samsung’s China factory

US may lift import restrictions on chip equipment to Samsung’s China factory

Due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions between China and the US, the US government placed restrictions on the supply of US-made chip technologies and equipment to Chinese firms. Since Samsung has semiconductor chip factories in China, the company faced issues with the supply chain, affecting its business. But the company may get some good news […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 3 weeks ago
[Updated] Samsung One UI 6.0 beta: Check if it is available in your country

[Updated] Samsung One UI 6.0 beta: Check if it is available in your country

Update: Samsung has released the 2nd One UI 6.0 beta firmware for the Galaxy S23 series in the USA, South Korea, and Germany. And with this release, the company also expanded the beta program's availability to include India, Poland, and the UK. The release for China appears to have been delayed, but otherwise, the list […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 1 month ago
Samsung has a three-pronged strategy for Galaxy S24 battery suppliers

Samsung has a three-pronged strategy for Galaxy S24 battery suppliers

The Galaxy S24 series will have not one, not two, but three battery suppliers, we found out through a series of regulatory listings from South Korea. Or, at the very least, Samsung will apply this three-pronged supplier strategy for the Galaxy S24+. That much is confirmed by these listings, but the base and Ultra models […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 1 month ago