The US has made sure that no one wants to supply Huawei processors. Even Mediatek refused
Yesterday, the US authorities amended export control rules, which now prohibit companies from supplying Huawei with finished components made using technology, equipment, or software of American origin. MediaTek representatives said they would follow the legal requirements.
The fact is that after the announcement of sanctions against HiSilicon in May, MediaTek was considered the main alternative supplier of processors for Huawei smartphones. Last year, it was client devices, which include smartphones, that brought Huawei Technologies half of all revenue, and in absolute terms, the amount reached $ 67 billion. Until now, cooperation with MediaTek was limited to the use of processors of the same name in entry-level and mid-range smartphones. It was assumed that after the termination of the supply of HiSilicon processors, Huawei will be able to switch to the flagship processors of the MediaTek brand.
As noted by Nikkei Asian Review, the Taiwanese company MediaTek in its statement expressed its readiness to comply with the requirements of international law. She has already hired legal experts to assess the possible impact of the new sanctions on her own business. In the short term, she does not see any particular problems for her own activities. However, MediaTek’s share price on the Taiwanese stock market fell by 9%.
Discussed at the level of rumors, possible cooperation of Huawei with the American company Qualcomm now does not seem promising, even if mutual legal claims are removed. Samsung, as already noted, is not interested in supporting a strong competitor in the smartphone market, and therefore will not supply the Chinese giant with its processors. Finally, the processors of the Chinese brand UNISOC will not be able to reach the level of products of world leaders, and therefore Huawei can rely on them only to create entry-level products.
While experts are analyzing the possible impact of the new US sanctions on Huawei’s business, there are already concerns about adding many others to semiconductor components that cannot be supplied to the Chinese manufacturer. Displays, camera image sensors, memory chips, and most auxiliary electronics – all of these types of products are manufactured using certain American technologies, so a new round of sanctions could really crush Huawei.
Strategy Analytics believes that Huawei will have sufficient stocks of components for the production of smartphones by the end of this year. Representatives of the Eurasia Group are more optimistic about the two-year stock of processors, but Huawei, in their opinion, may face a flight of customers in light of the likely ruin of the company.
