Reinventing the Millennium

After Yike confirmed the time for the autumn conference, Samsung chose to completely stop negotiations with Yike and gave the market the answer that it would not do foundry.

In fact, unlike what the outside world imagined, the two companies did have talks, but both Samsung and Yike had a somewhat indifferent attitude.

Samsung was quite surprised by Yike's attitude, which was different from what they imagined, but it was happy to see it happen and was also happy to stab it at the critical moment.

Yike's mobile phone chip orders are indeed a large amount of income. According to the current and future conditions, it may be comparable to Apple's orders, which is enough to become an important part of the healthy operation of a wafer foundry company.

However, Samsung's business cannot be viewed in isolation.

Compared with wafer foundry, Samsung's mobile phone market in the global market is the top priority. It would rather not have orders than reduce Yike's competitiveness. This is the main contradiction in the competition between the two companies.

As expected, such news from its own company really impacted Yike's stock price, but this was not enough...

The Samsung camp closely followed the dynamics of its competitors and soon received new good news.

As the time entered the first week of August, Taiji, a leading company in the field of wafer foundry, answered reporters' questions at a press conference and gave a definite answer to everyone's concerns about the negotiation with Yike.

"We welcome Yike's cooperation with us."

"However, we cannot accept Yike's orders this year. The production capacity of 16nm process is full. We have to wait until next year at the latest to see if there is a chance to cooperate with it."

"Yike is a very good company, and we also regret this."

In Yike's potential cooperation list, Taiji is a very promising wafer manufacturer. It is not only the third company in the world to mass produce 16nm process, but also has enough experience to promote capacity climbing.

At the same time, it is not like Intel and Samsung that take into account other attributes in business. It is just a pure wafer foundry.

Taiji's "foundry" attribute has always been praised.

This time, it unfortunately cannot produce production capacity. Whether it is really regrettable or not, this result still hits Yike's performance in the secondary market like a shock wave.

Even though Bingxin was restricted, it was not suppressed to 350 billion US dollars. Yike's market value fell to this range for the first time. The doubts that have been lingering around Yike since the first quarter suddenly became the focus of attention again.

When Yike's autumn conference came, people were no longer concerned about its products, but the company's future.

Where will Yike go?

In mid-August, Yike's stock, which had been under pressure, finally ushered in a good news that made people breathe a sigh of relief. Another wafer foundry manufacturer in Taiwan, UMC, had a new trend of mutual cooperation.

At ten o'clock in the morning on the 14th, UMC's CEO Yan Bowen accepted an interview with the media at the airport and said that he would fly to Shencheng, mainland China, to meet with Yike's head in person and discuss the in-depth cooperation between the two companies with Mr. Fang.

UMC just announced last month that the 16nm process has entered the small-scale mass production stage, and it is expected to achieve large-scale mass production for formal commercial use in the fourth quarter.

Compared with Bingxin, Intel, Taiji, and Samsung, it is the fourth manufacturer in the world to achieve this process node.

However, just like Samsung, UMC made the mistake of choosing the front-end and back-end gate solutions at the 28nm stage. The process was not stable while catching up, and there was a relative lack of customers and orders.

Samsung has a more important mobile phone business. Taiji's excellent process has already divided up the production capacity. Yike's supply demand is exactly what UMC, a second-tier manufacturer, wants.

UMC has been talking with Yike since the second quarter, but there are Intel and GlobalFoundries in front. When their negotiations broke down one after another, and it happened that the company had completed small-scale mass production, CEO Yan Bowen couldn't wait to talk to Mr. Fang in person about cooperation.

There was a key point in his answer at the airport, which showed his sincerity.

"What is the specific extent of our cooperation? For an excellent company like Yike, UMC does not mind cooperating in the form of a private placement. I believe that we have extremely good prospects for cooperation with Yike."

Yan Bowen referred to the previous cooperation between Yike and GlobalFoundries and proposed to cooperate in depth through a private placement.

Such news cheered up Yike and related investors before his flight landed in Shanghai, and also stimulated the recovery of the stock price.

This kind of goodwill from the CEO can be said to be the most sincere this year, and Yike has little time left. The two companies have both the basis for technical cooperation and the subjective will to take what they need, which is exactly a perfect match.

Yan Bowen's visit has attracted much media attention, but Yike 23 is not open to the public, and Fang Zhuo, who has been extremely low-key recently, has not accepted interviews. The outside world only knows that Yan Bowen talked with Yike for three days, and then he flew to Luzhou, and finally ended the nearly one-week journey.

When the CEO of UMC returned to Taiwan, he did not remain silent like Yike, but accepted an interview openly and revealed the progress of the negotiations.

"Yike is extremely outstanding in the field of chip design, and it is one of the top companies on the planet!"

"Mr. Fang and I both believe that the cooperation between Yike and UMC will be a win-win situation!"

"We still have some differences on some issues, but please believe that the strong combination of UMC and Yike is on the way!"

Yan Bowen was very ambitious in the interview and revealed some details of his communication with Mr. Fang.

He praised Mr. Fang as one of the best presidents in the world.

The remarks from the CEO of UMC made the performance of the secondary market pick up again, but unlike outside analysis and predictions, the difference between him and Fang Zhuo was not about Yike, but about Bingxin.

On behalf of the board of directors, Yan Bowen is willing to accept Yike's investment, but he hopes that Liang Mengsong's team can join UMC.

Ice Core International has been selected by Aramco, and its future is worrying. However, its progress in advanced technology in recent years is impeccable, and the biggest contributors to it are Liang Mengsong and his team.

Although Liang Mengsong was famous when he left Taiwan Records, he was not as shining as he is now.

Aramco restricts ice cores, not the employees inside them.

A considerable part of Yan Bowen's external display of sincerity lies in his "coveting" for ice core technology, hoping that this can solve UMC's weakness in research and development in the past few years.

Fang Zhuo naturally strongly disagreed with such a request, but he believed that there was room for maneuver on both sides. Dr. Liang could not go from Bingxin to UMC, but could play an additional role as a UMC consultant.

The opinions of both parties on this matter have yet to be unified, but the prospects for cooperation are indeed gradually becoming clearer.

Fang Zhuo's main focus is on ice core preparations to deal with the crisis. However, he does not actually object to adding a new supplier to alleviate the current situation, but he just judges that it is difficult to truly achieve similar cooperation.

Intel had previously talked about it, and GlobalFoundries had already made plans for fixed-term growth. However, there were either internal objections or interference, and the actual situation was consistent with the overall judgment.

This time, UMC came with sincerity and a desire for orders and technology. Yike still adhered to the attitude of normal talks and indeed had a greater foundation for cooperation with it than with other companies.

The leaders met, the secondary market picked up, and the progress was disclosed in a relatively transparent manner. The clouds hanging over Yike seemed to gradually fade away, and the difficult questions seemed to have a good answer.

However, Fang Zhuo received an apologetic and regretful phone call from UMC CEO Yan Bowen on August 24.

"Mr. Fang, the cooperation between UMC and Yike may be temporarily suspended..." Yan Bowen was very helpless.

"What's the problem?" Fang Zhuo's tone was calmer.

"We have been under pressure from many parties." Yan Bowen considered, "This year may not be a good time to cooperate with Yike, Mr. Fang, but I still strongly hope that we will have more appropriate cooperation opportunities."

Fang Zhuo said regretfully: "If UMC can withstand the pressure, this will be a very good development opportunity."

Yan Bowen was silent for a while, and could only say helplessly: "I think so too, but there are voices from the island authorities, and there are also objections from the board of directors. Sorry, Mr. Fang, I have argued with reason in the past two days, and have already I tried my best..."

Fang Zhuo smiled: "The island is much more proactive than the US side. I think such a decision is not in line with UMC's own interests."

"Some people think that even cooperation is risky." Yan Bowen paused and said frankly, "Mr. Fang, I haven't retired for a long time. There are many voices within the company. After they get the support of the authorities... Well, I It’s also very helpless.”

Fang Zhuo said "hmm" and still thanked: "Thank you, Mr. Yan, for your efforts in our cooperation. This is not your problem."

Yan Bowen smiled bitterly and finally said: "Mr. Fang, I have full respect for the development of Yike and Bingxin."

The end of the call between the two parties means that the window for cooperation between Yike and UMC has been closed.

Intel changed its CEO, GlobalFoundries was stopped by the SEC from issuing additional shares, Samsung proactively suspended negotiations, Taiwanese reporters had no spare capacity, and UMC was under pressure from the island.

With this phone call, it also means that all the names on Yike's alternative cooperation list have been crossed out.

As usual, Fang Zhuo notified the general office of the latest situation as soon as possible, and then received silence.

In the past week or so, UMC's trends and CEO Yan Bowen's positivity have been like a ray of sunshine, making everyone feel that there is room for improvement in the original predicament.

But this hope comes and goes quickly.

After a long while, Executive Vice President Yu Hong said quietly: "Mr. Yan didn't buy the company's stocks. He has been busy for more than a week to get rid of the trap..."

Tiny laughter echoed in the conference room.

"Every family has one reason or another." Fang Zhuo's mood was not affected, "But fortunately, we didn't gain anything, and we didn't lose anything."

He looked around at the members of the general office attending today's meeting and continued: "In the past, we fought side by side with the ice core. Now we are still fighting side by side with the ice core. In the future, we will still fight side by side with it."

"I said over there in Luzhou, it's better for me to have something for myself than for my father to have something for my mother."

"Now, whether it is subjective or objective, we must have it ourselves. If we have no choice, it is the best choice."

"When Yike was founded, Mr. Yu and I discussed the company's purpose and believed that we must maintain progress. Over the past ten years, Yike's development has fulfilled this principle."

"The company will encounter challenges and experience turmoil in the future. It is precisely in this way that our 'maintain progress' will be more like 'the sea is crossing, and only then can we show our true colors as a hero.'"

"Values ​​are not shouted out, they are practiced and accumulated."

"Mr. Yan from UMC said that he has full respect for the development of Yike and Bingxin."

"I hope that many years from now, whether you are still in Yike or not, you will look back on this past and be full of respect for your time."

After the general office meeting, the participants were all very heavy-hearted, both excited and doubtful. After all, the situation they encountered this time was completely different from the past.

The news of cooperation from UMC was delayed in dissemination.

It took a day for the gossip to appear, and the cooperation between UMC and Yike, which was close to being reached, was suspended again.

However, Yan Bowen had previously flown to Shanghai and affirmed the cooperation with certainty. As the CEO of one of the parties involved, his actions were very supportive.

The media did not get through to the CEO of UMC until the morning of the 26th, and personally confirmed the authenticity from his mouth. The cooperation between the two sides did indeed end in vain.

As for the reason... Yan Bowen did not give the reason, and his reason was not important.

Yike's stock price, which had rebounded in the past week, will inevitably be hit again. With the confirmation of UMC, the list of candidates for cooperation that once seemed rich no longer had any manufacturer's name, and this matter was immediately written about.

Where is Yike's expectation to solve the limitation of ice cores?

Will it have to restart negotiations with Intel, or will it have ordinary cooperation with second-tier manufacturers like GlobalFoundries?

Is the reorganization of Yike Optoelectronics preparing for the former? I heard that Intel wanted the business that Yike Optoelectronics has now.

Almost at the same time when UMC confirmed and foreign media spread the news, Penguin Finance also immediately analyzed the dilemma that Yike faced with key suppliers.

"Several institutions on Wall Street recently issued warnings about Yike's stock price, believing that there is great uncertainty in its supply chain."

"Today, with UMC announcing the termination of cooperation, Yike may suffer another heavy blow. If it loses the advantage of core chips, its domestic and foreign markets will face severe challenges."

"We have witnessed the demise of Nokia in the mobile phone market. Will we witness the rise and fall of another well-known mobile phone brand again?"

August 26 is the time for Yike's autumn conference. At 5:30 pm, Yike's stock on Nasdaq had suffered a setback before the market, with a drop of more than 3%. As the morning in the United States arrived, related negative news was even more boiling.

Half an hour before the press conference, as the host of this event, Yu Hong paid attention to the stock price drop and the media's pessimism, and also saw the latest news from domestic competitor Duji.

Robin, the head of Duji, accepted an interview with the media and mentioned Yike's monopoly, believing that it met the application of antitrust investigation.

She couldn't help but call Mr. Fang and sighed helplessly: "The storm is really coming."

Fang Zhuo on the phone just laughed: "What a storm!"