Driven by robust demand for AI, the price hikes in the PCB circuit board industry chain continue. According to reports, Japanese semiconductor material giant Resonac has raised the prices of CCL copper clad laminate and adhesive films by 30% starting from March 1. The industry expects that Resonac's price increase will be passed on to high-end manufacturing processes such as MLCC, HDI boards, IC substrates, and high-frequency high-speed PCBs. Moreover, the PCB sector may see a super catalyst – Nvidia's LPU inference chip. The market believes that with the implementation and rapid growth of AI applications, the market for specialized AI inference chips will expand rapidly, bringing about a significant impact on the PCB industry including increased volume and prices, process upgrades, material innovations, and higher concentration. This will enhance the value and importance of PCBs in AI chips, opening up new market size opportunities for the PCB industry.

The price surge triggered by AI is spreading across the component industry chain. Following the sharp rise in memory chip prices, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) have become the next key component to experience price increases. It is reported that spot prices for MLCCs in South Korea have risen by nearly 20%, and the industry expects the upward trend to continue in the short term. The capital market has responded positively. Since the beginning of this year, South Korea's Samsung Electro-Mechanics, a leading company in the MLCC industry, has seen significant gains, while related A-share stocks such as Fenghua Advanced Technology and Sanhuan Group have also risen in sync. The industry widely anticipates that the MLCC sector will show a differentiated pattern in 2026: high-end products are expected to see a surge in demand driven by the AI boom, while low and mid-end products will face pressures from weak demand and rising costs. Domestic enterprises have already established advantages in the low and mid-end markets and are currently accelerating their efforts to break into the high-end market.

[Increased Competition in the Downstream Solar Cell Sector: Juhe Materials' Revenue Growth Without Profit Increase in 2024] ① Juhe Materials reported a net loss of 2.1746 million yuan in Q4 2024, down 269.98% YoY and approximately 101.78% MoM. ② In January, Juhe Materials announced a delay in its fundraising investment project. (STAR Market Daily)

[Three Consecutive Limit-Ups for Boqian New Materials: Industry Volatility Risks Exist] On February 21, Boqian New Materials issued a stock trading risk warning announcement. The company's main business involves the R&D, production, and sales of high-end electronic-grade metal powder materials. Currently, the company's products mainly include nano-scale and submicron-scale nickel powder, as well as submicron-scale, micron-scale copper powder, silver powder, silver-coated copper powder, and alloy powder. Among them, nickel powder and copper powder are primarily used in the production of MLCCs and are widely applied in consumer electronics, automotive electronics, communications, industrial automation, aerospace, and other industrial fields. The silver-coated copper powder products are mainly used in the production of low-temperature paste for heterojunction (HJT) batteries in the PV sector.

【Separator Weekly Report】 ► Kanghui New Material Subsidiary's Capital Increased to 1.1 Billion ► Samsung Conducts Large-Scale Recall of Power Batteries Due to Battery Separator Damage ► Shenzhen Senior Technology Material: Focusing on Fast Charging Technology and Solid-State Battery Development ► Taihe New Material: The Company's Aramid-Coated Separators Are Being Validated by Power Battery Enterprises, with Some Entering the Business Negotiation Stage ► Wet-Process Separator Material Prices May Continue to Decline