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Republic of Korea unveiled on Wednesday an ambitious technology strategy centred on seven projects ranging from nuclear energy and quantum computing to space and biotechnology, as the country seeks to secure new growth engines beyond semiconductors and AI.The "Seven Major SEED" initiative, announced at a Blue House meeting chaired by President Lee Jae Myung, brings together goals including commercial deployment of indigenous small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2035, a moon landing by 2030, development of a domestic 100-qubit quantum computer by 2029 and commercialisation of brain-computer interface products by 2035.Lee said Korea should use the opportunity created by a boom in the semiconductor industry and the rapid expansion of AI to prepare the country's next growth drivers before they emerge. "The seven SEED projects we are discussing today will become next-generation growth engines and core strategic national assets," Lee said.The initiative covers SMRs, fusion energy, next-generation renewable energy, quantum technology, space and aviation, advanced biotechnology, and critical minerals and materials supply chains, according to Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon.The plan comes as Korea grapples with a shrinking working-age population and slowing potential growth, while competing to secure an edge in emerging technologies increasingly viewed as critical to economic competitiveness and national security."We will help these seeds grow and build a Korea that no one can rival in 10 or 20 years," Bae said.Under the strategy, Korea aims to commercialise a domestically developed SMR by 2035 and begin construction of non-light-water SMRs in the 2030s, while also pursuing fusion-based electricity generation in the late 2030s.The renewable energy component includes plans to develop ultra-efficient solar cells, advanced offshore wind technologies, hydrogen production systems and AI-based power-grid technologies, according to a government press release.In quantum technology, the government aims to develop a domestic error-corrected 100-qubit quantum processor by 2029 and become the world's leading quantum-chip manufacturing nation by 2035.The space programme includes a domestic moon landing mission in 2030, a second lunar lander mission in 2032 and construction of an independent low-Earth-orbit satellite communications network by 2035.The government also plans to develop technologies related to space data centres and support Korean participation in next-generation commercial aircraft programmes.In biotechnology, Korea aims to establish an AI-bio infrastructure by 2030 and commercialise brain-computer interface products by 2035, while supporting AI-driven drug discovery, autonomous laboratories and advanced gene and cell therapies.The supply-chain component includes measures to expand domestic processing and recycling of critical minerals, increase strategic stockpiles, diversify sourcing and invest 10tn won ($7.1 bn) in materials, parts and equipment technologies by 2030.Officials also said a public-private task force would be created to help accelerate commercialisation through regulatory reforms."Whether we become leaders enjoying unlimited opportunities or followers exposed to the risk of falling behind depends on our choice," Lee said.

Dutch tech giant ASML signed a deal with Tata Electronics yesterday to help build and scale up a semi-conductor plant in India, overseen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his tour of the Netherlands.ASML, which makes cutting-edge machines to manufacture semi-conductors, said it would “enable the establishment and ramp-up” of the Dholera plant in Modi’s home state of Gujarat in western India. The Dutch firm would deploy its advanced lithography tools in the plant, which allow for the rapid mass production of high-tech microchips, found in everything from cars to mobile phones.The deal came as the Netherlands and India were set to strike an economic partnership accord, following on from a free-trade agreement between India and the European Union that Modi dubbed “the mother of all deals.” ASML, Europe’s biggest tech firm by market value, said it saw “many compelling opportunities” in the Indian semiconductor sector.“We are committed to establishing long-term partnerships in the region,” said ASML’s chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet in a statement.Tata Electronics’ plant, with a planned investment of $11bn, will make semiconductor chips for the AI sector, as well as the car industry and other economic segments. New Delhi sees the European bloc as an important source of much-needed technology and investment to rapidly upscale its infrastructure and create millions of new jobs.On the other side, the EU has eyed India — the world’s most populous nation and a fast-growing economy — as an important market for the future.Modi’s trip to the Netherlands was his second since 2017, as the two countries seek to boost bilateral trade from the $27.8bn (23.7bn euros) last year.Earlier Saturday, Modi also addressed a large crowd of Indian ex-pats and visited Dutch King Willem Alexander.During his trip, he will also inspect the centuries-old Chola Plates, rings with engraved copper plates, that are being returned to India by Leiden University. 

SilTest Semiconductors, a Germany-based deep-tech firm specialising in AI (artificial intelligence)-driven semiconductor testing and automation, is establishing operations in Qatar, where it also plans to establish an academy to nurture local talent.The move marks a major step in the company’s global expansion and its entry into the Middle East. The company, which will be based in Qatar Science and Technology Park, will expand its work on advanced semiconductor test solutions, supporting customers and partners across the wider Middle East and North Africa region, Europe, Asia, and North America.The decision follows a visit to Doha earlier in 2025 and direct engagement with Qatar’s innovation and investment ecosystem."After spending time in Doha and seeing the ecosystem firsthand, it became clear that this is the right place to build something lasting," according to Samir Saran, founder and managing director of SilTest Semiconductors.With the support of Invest Qatar, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), and the German Industry and Commerce Office Qatar, SilTest is making a long-term investment in talent, technology, and knowledge transfer.The company has worked closely with these institutions to navigate market entry, establish its local presence, and connect with the broader business and innovation ecosystem.A key pillar of the company’s regional strategy is SilTest Academy, it’s training and capability-building initiative designed to help develop a workforce ready for the semiconductor industry."Beyond serving customers, our goal is to contribute to ecosystem development,” Saran said, adding "we believe that building local capabilities – engineering talent, operational know-how, and applied expertise – will be essential for attracting further semiconductor investment into the region.”SilTest Academy is its internal training hub, designed to teach engineers the skills the industry actually uses and its courses blend theory, application, and hands-on labs using actual ATE (automated test equipment) systems, not simulations. For university students and recent graduates, its courses provide real lab exposure and industry-aligned knowledge."Qatar stood out for its long-term vision and commitment to building real industrial and technological capabilities,” according to Saran.SilTest develops AI-powered platforms that improve productivity, yield, and quality in semiconductor product development and manufacturing.Its technologies address a critical and often under-served part of the semiconductor value chain: testing, qualification, and production optimisation –areas that are becoming increasingly strategic as global supply chains evolve.SilTest’s expansion into Qatar aligns with the country’s broader ambition to diversify its economy and strengthen its position in advanced, knowledge-based industries.The company plans to work closely with regional partners, academic institutions, and industry stakeholders as it grows its presence.“This is about building critical infrastructure for a more resilient global semiconductor ecosystem and doing it from a region that is actively shaping what comes next,” according to him.SilTest Semiconductors' platforms help semiconductor companies accelerate time-to-yield, reduce manual effort and errors, and scale engineering productivity across product development and manufacturing. SilTest works with customers across Europe and Asia and is expanding globally.The Qatar semiconductor market is forecasted to achieve $8.6bn revenue by 2032, projecting a 17% compound annual growth rate between 2024 and 2032, according to DataCube Research."With a strong focus on Semiconductors, Qatar aims to position itself as a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain by fostering international collaborations and investing in advanced manufacturing capabilities," it said.Qatar's efforts to strengthen its semiconductor industry align with its broader economic diversification strategy and Vision 2030 initiative.By investing in Adrian Semiconductor and partnering with Turkiye for semiconductor manufacturing, Qatar is positioning itself to meet growing global demand for semiconductors, which is expected to double over the next decade, it had said.2024 saw the partnership between Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) to establish a chip investment project, where the machinery and equipment needed for the production line will be provided by HBKU. 

The shift from “quantity” to “quality” and from “exporting simple consumption goods” to “exporting production systems” signals that China was successful in re-positioning itself at the high end of global supply chains, according to QNB. Over the coming months, the discussions for a new 5-year plan and industrial policy cycle will gain momentum with a focus on key sectors emphasising AI and semiconductors.As China closes both its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the decade since the launch of its flagship Made in China 2025 industrial strategy, the moment invites a sober look at what has been achieved, QNB said in an economic commentary.Some 10 years after Beijing first announced its ambition to move from “factory of the world” to “world leader in advanced manufacturing,” both the plan and the strategy are reaching maturity together. The 14th Five-Year Plan and Made in China 2025 were designed to improve the country’s economic KPIs into what policymakers now call “new quality productive forces,” a phrase that emphasises the pivot from quantity to quality, from input-driven expansion to technology-driven efficiency.Such change was focused on ten priority sectors where technological leadership would anchor future competitiveness, including robotics, aerospace, maritime engineering, advanced railway transportation equipment, new-generation IT, electric vehicles (EVs), advanced materials, biomedicine, energy equipment, and agricultural equipment’s.The evidence suggests that the strategy is bearing fruit. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) Critical Technology Tracker, China’s performance in strategic technological fields has shifted dramatically over time, QNB noted.While in 2007 China led in only three out of 64 critical technologies, the figure has jumped to 57 out of 64 in 2023, outpacing other advanced economies in the race to lead the frontier of research and development for strategic application in key fields.Such impressive performance can be clearly observed in key segments, such as robotics, EVs, and green energy, it said. Robotics is perhaps the clearest illustration of Chinese technological leadership. According to the International Federation of Robotics, more than 295,000 industrial robots were installed in 2024, accounting for over half of global deployments.Those are strictly defined robots as “a programmed actuated mechanism with a degree of autonomy to perform locomotion, manipulation or positioning,” i.e., it needs to follow instructions from a control system, have physical hardware to move or apply forces, and perform physical tasks with defined levels of independence from continuous human control.The installed base now exceeds 2mn units, by far the largest worldwide. Even in terms of robot density, China leads with 470 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees, having recently surpassed other industrial powerhouses such as Germany, Japan, and the US.This wave of automation marks the transformation of China’s industrial landscape from labour-intensive assembly to smart, data-driven production. This positions China as one of the leading countries in the world for automation after South Korea and Singapore.In solar, China installed more photovoltaic capacity in 2024 than the rest of the world combined, and its wind-power installations are equivalent to the total cumulative capacity of the United States and the European Union.These figures underline that China’s decarbonisation is not a by-product of slower growth but a deliberate industrial project: producing more energy, of cleaner origin, with globally unmatched efficiency and scale. What makes this transformation distinctive is the degree to which manufacturing, energy, and technology are converging. The push for advanced manufacturing feeds into the green transition through new materials, batteries, and grid technology, while the expansion of clean power lowers the cost base for further industrial upgrading.The synergies are now visible in export data, where the “new three” industries (EVs, lithium batteries, and solar modules) have collectively become one of China’s largest export categories, rivalling traditional electronics, QNB said.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) said that rare earths were key to the electronics and digital revolution and are becoming even more important as new industries and technologies emerge. In its weekly economic commentary, the QNB added that AI, semiconductors, defense and aerospace, as well as energy transition are becoming some of the most strategic sectors for the 21st century and should require massive growth in rare earth supply. This further strengthens China's dominant position in these supply chains and creates bottlenecks as well as vulnerabilities to the US and other competitors. US-China strategic competition is set to be one of the major drivers of the global economy in the years to come."In recent weeks, disputes over export controls of rare earth-related supply chains almost led to a major escalation of US-China trade conflicts," it said.Despite their name, rare earth elements are not particularly rare in the Earth's crust. The challenge lies in their extraction and refining, which are technologically complex, environmentally sensitive, and capital intensive.The group includes 17 elements such as neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, cerium, lanthanum, and yttrium, each with unique magnetic, optical, or catalytic properties that make them indispensable for modern industry. In addition, several related critical minerals, including gallium, germanium, indium, cobalt, and lithium, play similar roles across supply chains.Together, the importance of these materials can be seen most clearly in three of the most important, rapidly expanding sectors in the world. In the field of AI and semiconductors, rare earths are integral to the machinery and processes that make advanced chips possible. Cerium oxide is used to polish silicon wafers with nanometric precision, yttrium is a core component of plasma etching systems, and neodymium-based magnets power the high-efficiency cooling and motor systems used in AI data centers. Meanwhile, related elements such as gallium and germanium are used directly in high-performance chips and optical communications.In defense and aerospace, other rare earths are key inputs for jet engines, radar systems, and precision-guided weapons. Finally, in the energy transition, rare earths like neodymium and paraseodyum are essential for the powerful magnets that make EVs and wind turbines operate efficiently, while lanthanum and cerium play crucial roles in catalytic converters and energy storage technologies.The exponential growth in demand has transformed rare earths and critical minerals from industrial commodities into strategic assets. This growing importance has also created new geopolitical frictions, largely because production and processing capacity are highly concentrated in a few countries, particularly China.In a now-famous remark, former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping observed in 1987 that "The Middle East has oil; China has rare earths."China invested heavily in geological surveys, mining, and refining technology. By the early 2000s, China had become the dominant player in nearly every stage of the supply chain. Today, it accounts for around 65 percent of global mining output but over 85 percent of global refining and processing capacity. It also produces the majority of the permanent magnets and other high-value downstream products that depend on these materials. The country has also invested in expanding its footprint across the industry overseas, controlling significant assets, resources and reserves even outside China.In 2021, Beijing consolidated several state-owned companies into the China Rare Earth Group, strengthening its control and coordination over the sector. More recently, China has introduced export controls for national security reasons. Officials have emphasized that these controls are not outright bans but measures to ensure "responsible and secure" trade in dual-use goods. Nonetheless, these steps have reinforced perceptions that China views control over critical minerals as an important element of its broader geopolitical toolkit.In response, other countries have moved to diversify supply chains and reduce strategic dependence. The US has classified rare earths as critical to national security and is investing in domestic mining and processing through the Defense Production Act. However, these efforts will take years to bear fruit.

South Korea's exports rose 12.7% from a year earlier in September on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, logging the largest outbound shipments in three years and six months, government data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments came to $65.95 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. This marks the largest monthly export volume since March 2022, and the fourth straight month of on-year growth. For the third quarter, exports increased 6.6% on-year to $185.03 billion, surpassing the $180 billion-mark and setting a new quarterly record, the data showed. Imports decreased 8.2% on-year to $56.4 billion in September, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.64 billion. By item, semiconductor exports soared 22% on-year to $16.6 billion to mark an all-time monthly high for the second consecutive month following August. Auto exports increased 16.8% to $6.4 billion, marking the highest figure for any September. Ship exports surged 21.9% on-year to $2.89 billion, marking the seventh consecutive month of increase. Outbound shipments of machinery also expanded 10.3% on-year to $4.2 billion, marking the first on-year increase this year on the back of strong demand from emerging markets such as the Middle East.