[Provided by Mirae Asset Global Investments]
[Provided by Mirae Asset Global Investments]

The AI investment boom is expected to spread beyond memory chips to multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), substrates and front-end process equipment, encompassing the broader materials, components and equipment sector, according to a new industry outlook.

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Wednesday it hosted an online seminar titled "Semiconductor Supercycle Act 2: Materials, Components and Equipment" on the official YouTube channel of its TIGER ETF series, "Smart Tiger."

Jeong Eui-hyeon, head of ETF management at Mirae Asset Global Investments, said the semiconductor rally was no longer confined to memory chips. "The heat of the semiconductor rally is spreading beyond memory to the broader materials, components and equipment sector, including MLCCs, substrates and front-end process equipment," he said, adding that supply bottlenecks previously centered on HBM could expand to the wide range of components and materials that make up AI servers.

Jeong said the growing importance of MLCCs and substrates was tied to the increasing performance demands on AI servers. Next-generation AI servers are incorporating significantly more MLCCs, while high-performance substrates are moving toward larger surface areas and higher layer counts — making it difficult to rapidly scale up supply.

Rising demand is already showing up in corporate earnings. Samsung Electro-Mechanics recently raised prices, supported by high MLCC utilization rates and lean inventory levels. The company's flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) sales are estimated to grow from 1.16 trillion won ($839 million) last year to 2.16 trillion won this year.

Jeong forecast that rising capital expenditure by AI infrastructure providers would translate into improved profit margins for materials, components and equipment companies. Hyperscalers' combined capital expenditure this year is projected to reach $839.2 billion.

Mirae Asset Global Investments highlighted the TIGER AI Semiconductor Core Process ETF as a product offering exposure to key companies in the AI semiconductor supply chain.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 19, the ETF's top holdings were Samsung Electro-Mechanics (23.96 percent), LG Innotek (17.03 percent), Isupetasys (16.75 percent), Wonik IPS (10.68 percent) and Daeduck Electronics (10.45 percent). Substrate and MLCC-related companies accounted for 71.41 percent of the portfolio.

The TIGER AI Semiconductor Core Process ETF posted a one-year return of 52.76 percent as of Tuesday.


moon@heraldcorp.com