LRCX - U.S. supply licenses for SMIC progressing enough to expand capacity

Licenses for U.S. wafer fab equipment companies to supply to SMIC (SMICY) are progressing enough to allow the Chinese foundry's capacity expansion for mature process nodes, according to TrendForce.The U.S. is allowing licenses for equipment and technology that can produce 14nm and above processes, but is restricting the more advanced nodes of 10nm and above.U.S.-based equipment suppliers applying for licenses include Lam Research ([[LRCX]] +1.9%), KLA ([[KLAC]] +1.7%), Applied Materials ([[AMAT]] +3.1%), and Axcelis ([[ACLS]] +2.6%).TrendForce says that keeping SMIC, the world's fifth-largest foundry, in operation "will provide a bit of relief to the capacity crunch in the global foundry market," which is driving the global chip shortage hitting the auto industry particularly hard.The license block for advanced processes is a hit to the Chinese semiconductor industry. China and Asia-Pacific account for over 70% of SMIC's revenue.Yesterday, Reuters reported that U.S. officials were delaying SMIC license approvals with follow-up questions that

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U.S. supply licenses for SMIC progressing enough to expand capacity