Hong Kong stock concept tracking | AI industry chain wave boosts PCB industry prosperity Industrial chain ushers in an upward cycle (with concept stocks)

The wave of the AI industry chain is constantly advancing, greatly promoting the development of the PCB industry, especially the wave of data center construction led by technology giants, and the prosperity of the PCB industry is expected to further increase. Industrial recently pointed out that with the rising proportion of transactions, some segments in the AI industry chain are showing signals of short-term trading congestion. CMSC previously stated that the PCB/CCL industry has both cyclical and growth attributes, and innovative factors such as computing power and AI on the edge are expected to drive the industry into a new round of growth, which is still worth paying attention to. According to a research report from CITIC SEC, with the progress of AI technology and the growth in demand for consumer electronics and servers, the demand for PCB copper foil is expected to continue to rise, with high-end PCB copper foil in greater demand. It is estimated that the demand CAGR for global high-end PCB copper foil from 2023 to 2030 is expected to reach 10%, and the market size is expected to reach 36 billion yuan by 2030. Domestic copper foil manufacturers have made significant technological breakthroughs in the field of high-end PCB copper foil. Customers such as Nvidia are gradually recognizing domestic high-end PCB copper foil, and domestic manufacturers are expected to break the monopoly of foreign enterprises in the field of high-end PCB copper foil. CITIC SEC predicts that domestic manufacturers are expected to gain a 15% market share in the high-end PCB copper foil market by 2030, corresponding to a market size of 5.4 billion yuan, with a CAGR of 42% from 2023 to 2030. HK-listed companies related to the PCB sector: - Techwise Integrative Board (01888): KB LAMINATES is a leader in the copper-clad laminate industry. With the rise in copper prices in 2024 and the gradual recovery of downstream demand, copper-clad laminates have flexible pricing space. Coupled with vertical integration in the supply chain and cost advantages from scale effects, the company is expected to drive its revenue and profit back into growth trajectory in 2024. - KINGBOARD HLDG (00148): Layout of the entire industry chain of PCB from upstream raw materials to downstream. In the mid-year report for 2024, the group vigorously built a research and development center for copper-clad panels equipped with high-precision equipment. The group has successfully developed a variety of high-frequency high-speed products that can be applied to GPU motherboards in AI servers.