High tech in Europe, St accelerates production in China

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - A buying session on the European technology sector, with the sector in evidence on all the main markets of the continent, also partly in the wake of some good performances in Asia. In Europe, purchases are well spread: Infineon is running in Frankfurt, while in Paris, the Schneider Electric and Legrand are all up over 3%. Amsterdam also fared well, with Prosus advancing up to over 4% (also boosted by positive comments from Morgan Stanley analysts), as did Asml. As we said, the movement was ushered in by the strong closing of the Asian stock markets, particularly Tokyo (+2.8%), where Sony, among others, finished up 1.1%, while SoftBank jumped 7.9%, reinforcing the global sentiment on the investments in AI.

At Piazza Affari, the Stmicroelectronics stands out, in line with the positive movement in the European semiconductor sector. Supporting the Italian-French company in particular is a further link to the Far East. Analysts at Banca Akros, in fact, highlighted the announcement of the start-up, in recent days, of deliveries of STM32 microcontrollers produced locally in China by St, with the first wafers made entirely in the country by Huahong already distributed to local customers. An 'achievement' that analysts say 'represents an important step in the global supply chain strategy', with the aim of extending local production to other microcontroller families by 2026.

According to the analysts' comments, "St has become the first global semiconductor company with a dual supply chain", thanks to its ability to offer 40-nanometer products made in China with "the same design and technology" as those produced in the group's other plants. The production model covers the entire local supply chain, from wafer production to packaging and testing, and allows Chinese customers to choose between components manufactured locally or abroad 'while maintaining global standards of quality and full compatibility', the experts conclude.