ASML and Besi Semiconductor Stock Prices Hit Limit Down as China's Domestic DUV Lithography Machine Enters Mass Production, Changxin May Become One of the First Adopters

July 27th, ASML and Besi Semiconductor, listed in Amsterdam, were automatically halted trading after falling by 8% to 8.7%.

On the news front, according to sources quoted by The Information, a Chinese state-backed company has begun mass production of domestically developed DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) lithography manufacturing equipment, marking a significant progress in China's semiconductor industry's pursuit of localization and self-sufficiency.

It is reported that the company plans to produce about 5 DUV lithography machines in 2026 and expand to about 20 machines in 2027. Although there is still a gap in capacity compared to the Dutch lithography giant ASML (which delivered 131 sets of immersion DUV lithography systems last year), the mass production of domestic DUV equipment signifies a further step towards self-reliance and controllability in China's chip manufacturing supply chain. Sources mentioned that these domestically produced DUV lithography machines are planned to be delivered to major Chinese chip manufacturers, including SMIC, HSMC, and the memory chip maker ChangXin Memory.