Reports indicate that wafer foundries such as United Microelectronics, World Advanced Semiconductors, and Powerchip Semiconductor are raising prices. The high "equipment" content Science and Innovation Semiconductor ETF (588170) has seen its scale grow by 4.743 billion yuan over the past 3 months.

As of 10:08 AM on March 16, 2026, the Sci-Tech Semiconductor ETF (588170) decreased by 1.84%, and the Semiconductor Equipment ETF Huaxia (562590) fell by 2.18%.

In popular stocks, Jinhong Gas led the gains with a 5.49% increase, Aisen Co. rose by 1.50%, ShenGong Co. increased by 1.08%, NAIKE Equipment declined by 4.50%, Shanghai Hejing dropped by 4.07%, and Helin Weina fell by 3.43%.

Liquidity-wise, the Sci-Tech Semiconductor ETF had a turnover rate of 2.28% during the trading session, with a transaction volume of 188 million yuan; Huaxia Semiconductor Equipment ETF had a turnover rate of 0.88%, with a transaction volume of 23.3 million yuan.

In terms of scale, the Sci-Tech Semiconductor ETF grew by 4.743 billion yuan over the past three months, achieving significant growth and leading its peers in new scale additions; Huaxia Semiconductor Equipment ETF increased by 72.27 million yuan over the past two weeks, also showing notable growth.

Regarding capital inflows, the Sci-Tech Semiconductor ETF experienced continuous net capital inflows over the past three days, with the highest single-day inflow of 60.33 million yuan, totaling 126 million yuan in net “fund attraction,” with an average daily net inflow of 42.16 million yuan. The Huaxia Semiconductor Equipment ETF saw continuous net inflows over the past nine days, with a peak single-day inflow of 127 million yuan, totaling 326 million yuan, and an average daily net inflow of 36.20 million yuan.

On the news front, following storage chips and packaging, the semiconductor industry chain may usher in a new wave of price hikes. Mature process wafer foundries like UMC, World Advanced, and Powerchip are expected to raise prices starting as early as April, with increases of up to 10% or more. UMC has not responded to market rumors of price hikes but previously mentioned that current pricing conditions are “indeed more favorable than before.” World Advanced’s price increase letter indicates plans to adjust foundry prices from April 2026 but did not disclose the extent of the increase, and the company has not responded to the price hike. Powerchip confirmed that it has gradually increased prices since this quarter, mainly adjusting products with lower gross margins. Additionally, major customers using mature processes, especially IC design companies driven by driver ICs, are planning to raise prices due to rising costs.

Guotai Haitong Securities believes that, compared to logic chips, the intergenerational gap in storage chips domestically and internationally is smaller. The development of AI has triggered a “big inflation” in global storage demand, which benefits domestic storage companies in the ramp-up phase by improving cash flow and shortening depreciation recovery cycles. Profitability improvements and stock price increases will help these companies expand capacity through capital markets, benefiting domestic packaging, testing, and equipment industries, and accelerating the pace of domestic substitution.

Related ETFs: Sci-Tech Semiconductor ETF (588170) and its linked funds (Class A: 024417; Class C: 024418): The tracking index is the only semiconductor equipment theme index on the STAR Market, with the highest proportion of advanced packaging (about 50%) in the market, focusing on cutting-edge equipment companies in technological innovation.

Huaxia Semiconductor Equipment ETF (562590) and its linked funds (Class A: 020356; Class C: 020357) track the CSI Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Theme Index, which has the highest proportion of semiconductor equipment (about 63%) in the market index, directly benefiting from the global chip price hike trend and the increasing demand for “selling shovels” (equipment suppliers).

Daily Economic News

(Editors: He Chong)

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