Chinese Chip Shares Soar Thanks To The Launch Of The Huawei Mate 60 Pro With 5G Technology Speculation

Huawei Technologies launched their newest phone, Mate 60 Pro. (photo: twitter @mahezahir24)

JAKARTA - Chinese company's chip stocks rose on Wednesday, August 30 after Huawei Technologies launched their newest phone, Mate 60 Pro. Investors speculate that this phone may use chips capable of supporting 5G technology. If true, then this hakl will be an advantage for China's local semiconductor sector.

Since 2019, Washington has restricted Huawei from buying advanced chips and software from US companies, which have damaged their consumer electronics businesses and only allowed them to launch limited 5G models using accumulated chip stocks.

Research firms told Reuters last month that they believed Huawei was planning a return to the 5G smartphone industry by getting chips domestically, using their own advances in semiconductor design tools and chip manufacturing from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC). Meanwhile, Huawei declined to comment on that.

On Tuesday, August 29, the company started selling Mate 60 Pro around noon in an unusual way, without prior notification or advertising. Employees at Huawei and sales personnel at stores in Beijing and Shenzhen also told Reuters they were shocked by the launch.

Specifications given to the Mate 60 Pro demonstrate its ability to make satellite calls, but do not provide information about the power of the chipset in it.

Nonetheless, online users who manage to buy mobile phones start posting videos where they do the tests they claim to show that these phones can achieve network speeds from mobile phones with 5G chipsets as well as screenshots showing the use of the Kirin 9000s chip.

The launch of this phone is also the most sought-after topic on Weibo, the Chinese version of platform X, on Wednesday, with excited netizens saying that the launch marks the implementation of restrictions from the United States.

As an indication that the phones were selling quickly, in the afternoon the Huawei website stated that buyers would only be able to receive their phones on September 17.

Huawei, which is in trouble with Washington and is at the point of important debate in US-China relations, declined to comment on whether this phone supports 5G, but said in a statement that the Mate 60 series was the most powerful Mate model ever.

The launch of the Mate 60 Pro also coincided with US Trade Minister Gina Raimondo's visit to China. Last Tuesday, he said that the US had rejected requests from China to reduce export control of technology.

China's semiconductor sector jumped more than 2.5% on Wednesday, bringing the weekly rise to around 8%. China Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp is up about 10% a week.

Retail investor Lu Deyong said he bought shares in semiconductor company Sai MicroElectronics Inc, which has a business connection with Huawei, and the technology-focused STAR 50 Index, following the launch of Huawei's new phones.

"Share goes up and I see that a large amount of money flows in, which shows a very good attitude towards its launch and technology," Lu said. "I can't confirm whether the technology is authentic, but I hope so."

Nicole Peng, Senior Vice President of Mobility at Canalys, said that it would be important for Huawei to provide clarification on its technology, given the high interest in the market.

"If it is true that Huawei is capable of developing its own 5G SoC (on-chip system) which exceeds the current development timeline in the industry, it signifies its abundance in its R&D capabilities. This creates a huge disruption to the semiconductor industry, especially for its competitors," said Peng.

"On the other hand, doubts surrounding Huawei's ability to develop a 5G SoC and its uncertainty about its products and launch could harm its credibility in the long term. This could turn out to be bad if the claim was false," added Peng.