It is the Japanese companies’ turn to apply for licenses to supply Huawei components

Huawei’s Japanese suppliers, including Sony and chipmaker Kioxia, have applied to the US government to supply components to Huawei, which has been struggling with access to technology. US equipment.

However, there is no indication that their license applications have been approved. Without the permission of the US Department of Commerce, Sony and Kioxia could face significant losses in revenue once Huawei is one of its biggest customers. Previously, both companies were supplying components for Huawei’s 5G products and were stuck in the fierce technology competition between the US and China.

Currently Sony is the leading supplier of image sensor market share for mobile phones. Huawei is estimated to account for a fifth of Sony’s $ 9.5 billion in image sensor revenue, making the Japanese company’s second-largest customer after Apple.

In August, Sony predicted that semiconductor operating profit would drop about 45% in the fiscal year ending March 2021. Analysts expect the business’s earnings to fall. further due to the impact of US sanctions on Huawei.

Kioxia, which was formerly part of Toshiba Memory in Toshiba, also suffered heavy losses when Huawei met the sanctions. The smartphone memory chip segment accounts for 40% of the company’s revenue, with Huawei taking a share of that.

Even US-China trade tensions and increased sanctions on Huawei have been among the factors that have recently delayed its IPO, which should take place in early October.

So far, Intel is one of the few US chip manufacturers to obtain a license to supply Huawei with personal computer components. But this is only a small part of Huawei’s business, while Huawei’s telecom technologies are being tightened more and more. This also means that licensing applications from Sony and Kioxia will be more difficult for the Commerce Department to approve than Intel or AMD.

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