Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | Strong Demand for High-Density Interconnect Boards, PCB Industry Expected to Continue Resonating with "Cycle + Growth" Dual Logic (with Concept Stocks)

Benefiting from the vigorous development of artificial intelligence, the market demand for high-density interconnect boards has been strong in recent years. The printed circuit board industry, known as the "mother of electronic products," has also ushered in new development opportunities. Guo Tao, Deputy Director of the China E-commerce Expert Service Center and a senior artificial intelligence expert, stated in an interview with reporters: "With the development of the global artificial intelligence industry, printed circuit boards need to not only increase in layers and levels but also optimize in terms of transmission loss and design flexibility. High-density interconnect boards used in fields such as artificial intelligence servers are expected to become the main direction for the iterative upgrade of printed circuit boards. Enterprises that plan ahead may better seize development opportunities." Recently, the heat around the PCB concept has also been driven by NVIDIA. Last week, some market views indicated that NVIDIA's GB200 servers officially started mass production in the second half of the year, with AI server PCB mainly adding GPU board sets. At the same time, AI servers have high requirements for transmission rates, requiring the use of 20-30 layer HDI boards, and will use ultra-low loss materials in material selection, further increasing their value. Analysts believe that the PCB sector will show a significant non-weak feature in the first quarter of 2024, driven by demand recovery and continuous optimization of product structures by major manufacturers. AI is expected to become a new driving force for the growth of the PCB industry. With the improvement of overall machine integration, the usage of HDI circuit boards is expected to continue to grow, and NVIDIA's GB200 is expected to significantly increase the usage of HDI circuit boards. Bank of China Securities released a research report stating that the PCB industry belongs to the basic industry of electronic information product manufacturing and is greatly affected by macroeconomic cyclical fluctuations. With the global semiconductor cycle recovery trend and the launch of terminal innovations represented by Apple XR, AI PCs, etc., the PCB industry's "cycle + growth" dual logic is expected to continue to resonate. Related companies in the PCB sector: Jianteo Multilayer Board (01888): Increased the average selling price of its "FR-4 laminates" by RMB 10 per sheet. This is the second price adjustment made by the company this year in response to the rise in copper costs in mid-March and the improvement in end demand. Citigroup's research report believes that considering the company's full orders in May and the inflationary impact of the average selling price, it will continue to offset the recent surge in copper costs. Therefore, the bank has raised its profit forecast for Jianteo Multilayer Board for the fiscal years 2024 to 2026 by 24% to 37%. The bank predicts that the monthly shipment volume of Jianteo Multilayer Board will increase by about 30% annually, indicating that utilization rate and gross profit margin will improve. Jianteo Group (00148): According to Jianteo Group's 2023 annual report, the group has completed the development of products with low dielectric constant/low thermal expansion coefficient for AI computing power, with a high proportion of domestic materials. Currently, it is undergoing comprehensive testing with customers and actively pushing into the market in line with the group's PCB and industry needs. In order to meet the explosive development of AI, the company has increased investment and technological reserves in high aspect ratio plating technology, advanced back drilling technology, thick copper bottom PCB production process technology, and the use of ultra-high-speed materials At the same time, the company is also reserving new technologies for future 6G wireless communication, high-speed servers, 4D imaging millimeter-wave automotive radar, and high-voltage fast charging in the field of new energy vehicles