Ajinomoto reportedly cuts critical chip packaging film supply to China by 30% as domestic substitutes race to qualify — ABF restriction comes following Beijing's rare earth export curbs
Japanese chemical maker Ajinomoto has reportedly told customers in mainland China that it will cut the supply of ABF.
Japanese chemical company Ajinomoto has reportedly reduced its supply of ABF insulating build-up film to China by 30%, according to a report from JW Insights. This would severely impact Chinese customers such as Shennan Circuits, Xingsen Technology, and Shenghong Electronics, who rely heavily on Ajinomoto's 95% global market share in this niche market.
China currently has a self-sufficiency rate of less than 5% for this crucial component. The reduction is attributed to Ajinomoto prioritizing customers that use its FC-BGA substrates for Nvidia, AMD, and Intel accelerators, while mainland buyers take a back seat. Ajinomoto has been investing heavily in capacity expansion, committing ¥25 billion (around $156 million USD) to increase production by 50% by 2030.
However, a third production facility is not expected to come online until around 2032. Meanwhile, Chinese companies are racing to develop alternative films, with Huazheng New Material's CBF showing the most promise so far.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
