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INDONESIA PLANS TO IMPOSE FEES ON SHIPS TRANSITING THE STRAIT OF MALACCA, *ONE OF THE WORLD’S BUSIEST AND MOST STRATEGIC MARITIME CORRIDORS. - the more, the merrier

[Exclusive] Iran War Fallout… Japan's Semiconductor Photo Material Supply Chain 'On the Brink of Collapse' A new flashpoint has emerged in the semiconductor materials supply chain in the wake of the Iran war. Due to a solvent shortage, the Japanese industry is experiencing disruptions in the overall production of photo process materials, including photoresist (PR). Because Japan holds a high share in photo process materials, concerns are growing that domestic (Korean) semiconductor production could also take a hit. According to multiple industry sources on the 22nd, major Japanese photo material suppliers have, since the previous evening, either already communicated—or are scheduled to communicate—the raw material sourcing disruptions to semiconductor customers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix through their Korean subsidiaries. One source said, "The Japanese companies that were notified yesterday (the 21st) evening are holding internal meetings today and are scheduling to formally inform their Korean customers tomorrow (the 23rd)." The materials in short supply are Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether (PGME) and Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether Acetate (PGMEA). PGME and PGMEA are used as solvents in various electronic materials. A solvent is a liquid or gaseous substance used to dissolve other substances. Dissolution refers to the phenomenon in which one substance dissolves and mixes into another. Semiconductor materials that use PGME and PGMEA include PR, Thinner, Bottom Anti-Reflective Coating (BARC), Spin-On-Hardmask (SOH), and temporary bonding adhesives for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). This covers almost all photo patterning process materials. An industry source described the situation as, "It's like not being able to add water to instant coffee mix." The Japanese companies supplying these materials to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are numerous, including Shin-Etsu Chemical, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), JSR, Fujifilm, and Nissan Chemical. The reason for the PGME and PGMEA shortage is the Iran war. Japan depends on the Middle East for more than approximately 40% of its naphtha. When the Strait of Hormuz was effectively blockaded in early March, Middle Eastern naphtha supply was cut off. Naphtha is a light oil produced during crude oil refining. When decomposed at high temperatures, it yields basic petrochemical feedstocks such as propylene and ethylene. As a result, 6 of Japan's 12 naphtha cracking centers (NCCs) have entered production cuts. With propylene supply declining, the production of Propylene Oxide (PO)—which uses propylene as a feedstock—was hit. PGME and PGMEA, which use PO as a feedstock, have consequently faced production disruptions in a chain reaction. The spot price of Japanese naphtha jumped approximately 92%, from the USD 600s per ton before the blockade to USD 1,190 in early April. Japan sources most of the raw materials for its semiconductor photo materials domestically. Japan's Daicel produces everything from PO to PGMEA in an integrated manner. Toagosei receives raw materials supplied by Dow and refines them into PGMEA, which it mass-produces. The PGME and PGMEA produced in this way are then received by domestic manufacturers such as JSR, TOK, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Fujifilm, which turn them into finished products like PR for export to Korea. An industry source pointed out, "Japan has a strong tendency to produce finished products using Japanese-made raw materials whenever possible," adding, "This self-sufficient structure is a strength in normal times, but when one raw material source is blocked like this, the entire chain shakes simultaneously." Japanese photo material manufacturers are expected to review sourcing Korean or Chinese PGME and PGMEA. The key issue is the Process Change Notification (PCN) procedure. If the raw material for photo materials changes, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix must redo evaluations. This typically takes around one year. For leading-edge processes, it takes even longer. Another source analyzed, "Thinner and SOH have been partially localized, but if Japanese supply of PR or BARC is cut off, semiconductor fabs could come to a halt," adding, "If there are major disruptions in material sourcing, some evaluation steps will inevitably have to be skipped." Reflective benefits for the Korean industry are also expected. Chemtronics and Jaewon Industrial have already built PGMEA mass-production systems and are directly supplying the material to Japanese material companies and Samsung Electronics. An executive at Jaewon Industrial said, "The Korean industry has diversified raw material supply chains across the U.S. and China, so we are better off than Japan, but sourcing is not easy for us either—it's essentially the same situation." Hanwul Soje Science plans to bring in PGME and PGMEA produced locally through its subsidiary JK Materials, which has signed an agreement with a major Chinese materials company referred to as "Company E." It is currently in supply discussions with a major Japanese photo material company on these items.

我觉得现在台湾的经济好主要归功于蔡英文，好像赖清德不怎么行啊。 我每年差不多去一次台湾，最近今年二月份去，确实感觉到他们很幸福。 去年经济这么大体量居然增长8%左右，算世界奇迹啊。 另外，台湾人几乎人人买台积电的股票，所以台积电在台湾根本跌不下去。

“I may speak the English Language better than the Chinese language, but I’ll never be an Englishman, not in a thousand generations.” -Lee Kuan Yew (Founded Singapore)

Chinese Media Report: ByteDance's 2025 Net Profit Plunges Over 70% on Surging AI Investment, Overseas Revenue Share Hits Record High According to sources cited by Chinese media, ByteDance's net profit in 2025 declined by more than 70% year-on-year, with net profit margin also falling sharply. The drop is attributed to the company's substantial ramp-up in AI business investment during the third and fourth quarters of last year. Meanwhile, ByteDance's overseas revenue grew by approximately 50% in 2025, significantly outpacing the roughly 20% growth in domestic revenue. As a result, the overseas business's share of total revenue expanded from 25% in 2024 to over 30%, setting a new all-time high. TikTok Shop's 2025 GMV rose by nearly 70% year-on-year, serving as the primary driver behind the increase in ByteDance's overseas revenue share. ByteDance declined to comment on the figures.