Samsung Electronics has formally applied to the U.S. Department of Commerce for permission to sell DRAM, NAND and OLED displays to Huawei after September 15 , when new sanctions against the Chinese firm came into effect. However, the demand is unlikely to be met in the current context of Sino-U.S. relations.
Credits: Samsung
The noose is tightening around Huawei's mobile arm: a few weeks after it was learned from TSMC, a semiconductor leader and historical partner in the manufacture of Kirin chips, that Huawei would no longer benefit from the smelter's expertise – other groups announced that they too would be unable to continue selling equipment and services to the Chinese firm as of September 15.
The last big fish to make this admission of impotence is Samsung who announced that it will no longer be able to provide NRAM, NAND or OLED screens to Huawei beyond September 15, 2020. However, according to Sam Mobile, Samsung is still trying to circumvent the sanctions. At least in the most formal way possible: by requesting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Samsung is not the only group to have filed such requests. SK Hynix as well as firms like Qualcomm have been trying for months to change the position of the U.S. government to serve their interests. The fact remains that Huawei is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a friendly firm, which accounts for 1/5th of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor sales. On the other hand, it is a very aggressive competitor for Samsung Mobile, the smartphone division of the conglomerate.
In addition, Huawei's woes have instead boosted Samsung's network infrastructure business with contracts to deploy 5G solutions. Therefore, Samsung can play on all scenarios: a return of Huawei in its order book would be good news because Samsung would benefit from the firm's good sales as it does otherwise with other competitors in mobile, notably Apple.
Read also: Samsung has launched 15 5G-enabled smartphones since 2019, but still stands behind Huawei
Otherwise, Samsung could strengthen its ties with other partners to make up the shortfall – while benefiting from better momentum in its mobile business.