Memory chips and power semiconductors are experiencing synchronized boom cycles, triggering a wave of catalysts for upstream semiconductor equipment and materials. Tuesday morning saw tungsten hexafluoride, aluminum nitride, and silicon carbide sectors lead gains as representative semiconductor materials.
Third and fourth-generation semiconductor materials are receiving policy tailwinds, while power semiconductors are seeing simultaneous price and volume increases. Yangtze River Storage's IPO is accelerating and Morgan Stanley has significantly raised its memory price hike forecasts. Driven by these multiple positive factors, capital is rapidly flowing into core upstream semiconductor assets. ChinaAMC STAR Semiconductor Equipment ETF (588710) has attracted a cumulative RMB 931 million in inflows over the past three trading sessions, with the latest fund shares reaching 11.4 billion units, a new all-time high.
Tungsten hexafluoride, an indispensable key electronic specialty gas in modern semiconductor manufacturing, serves as the standard precursor for depositing tungsten metal films. Its high purity and unique properties have directly advanced the development of sub-7nm process nodes, 3D NAND flash memory, and AI chips. With the AI wave continuing into 2026, core memory manufacturers have begun large-scale capacity expansion, which will generate significant incremental demand for upstream materials like tungsten hexafluoride.
Policy support is also intensifying. On August 19, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone," which explicitly proposes focusing on key industrial chain segments including high-end chip design, process manufacturing, and core equipment and materials, while accelerating the technological breakthrough and industrial application of third and fourth-generation semiconductor materials. Analysts believe that third and fourth-generation materials such as aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, and gallium nitride represent the key direction for future power semiconductors and RF devices, and explicit policy support will directly benefit related materials R&D and equipment companies.
The power semiconductor sector is showing a trend of rising volumes and prices. Benefiting from the flourishing development of downstream applications including AI, new energy vehicles, wind power, photovoltaics, and energy storage, demand for key power semiconductor packaging components continues to grow. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based power semiconductor manufacturers are preparing a third wave of price adjustments, with plans to raise prices on non-contract products by 10% to 15% as early as October. STMicroelectronics has also recently notified customers of price increases, announcing upward adjustments to multiple product line quotes effective August 23, marking its third price hike this year.
On the memory chip front, domestic NAND leader Yangtze River Storage's IPO status changed to "supervision acceptance" on August 19, taking another step toward an official A-share listing. According to market data, Yangtze River Storage's global NAND flash memory market share rose to third place in the second quarter of 2026, with first-quarter revenue exceeding RMB 20 billion, up 100% year-over-year. Additionally, Morgan Stanley has significantly raised its memory price hike expectations, forecasting mature DRAM prices to rise 50% in Q3 and another 10% in Q4, with SLC NAND expected to increase 50% per quarter for the remaining two quarters of this year.
ChinaAMC STAR Semiconductor Equipment ETF (588710) tracks the STAR Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Index, with a high-purity focus on the upstream semiconductor "materials + equipment" segments, which together account for 89% of the index composition. Notably, the index has a "memory chip" concept content exceeding 80% and an "advanced packaging" concept content exceeding 67%. Off-market investors can also access the theme through the ChinaAMC STAR Semiconductor Materials and Equipment ETF Feeder Fund (Class A: 024974 / Class C: 024975).
From a historical performance perspective, the 100% STAR Market stock selection may endow the underlying index with strong elasticity characteristics. Over the past year, the STAR Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Index has accumulated a gain of 178%, outperforming comparable mainstream semiconductor theme indices during the same period, including the Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Theme Index (160%), the CSI All-Share Semiconductor Index (80%), the STAR Chip Index (100%), and the Guozheng Chip Index (71%).
Semiconductor equipment and materials constitute a high-elasticity sector, and investors should be mindful of high valuation and trading volatility risks. Please exercise rational judgment and invest cautiously based on your own risk tolerance. One approach to consider is a barbell allocation strategy paired with ChinaAMC's "dividend family" — using the growth-oriented technology sector on the offensive side to capture industrial dividends, while defensive dividend-type assets aim to smooth portfolio volatility.
ChinaAMC Fund is among the first batch of ETF managers in China, with over 19 years of deep expertise in index investing. The firm has provided investors with transparent, conveniently traded, low-cost index tools including CSI 300 ETF ChinaAMC (510300) and A500 ETF ChinaAMC (563360). As of the end of June 2026, the company's ETFs have generated cumulative profits exceeding RMB 180.6 billion for holders over the past two years, making it one of only three public fund companies in the entire A-share market to achieve cumulative profits exceeding RMB 160 billion during the period.