Semiconductor packaging is becoming a geopolitical chessboard, and Amkor Technology is the latest player testing a partial retreat from China.
The company has engaged an adviser to structure a carveout of its China chip assembly operations and sound out prospective buyers, Bloomberg reported.
A deal could value the business between $1B and $1.5B, though talks are preliminary and people familiar with the matter stress that no decision is final.
Amkor would likely keep a minority position while a new owner took over day-to-day control of the unit.
The Shanghai operation, built around a facility Amkor bought from IBM in 2004, handles the assembly and test work that turns finished wafers into shippable chips, the OSAT niche that has become a strategic chokepoint.
The move mirrors a broader corporate reassessment of China exposure, as Washington’s export controls and Beijing’s countermeasures squeeze the semiconductor middle ground.
Even as it trims its China footprint, Amkor is pouring record sums into advanced packaging and building an Arizona plant tied to Nvidia, part of the industry’s widening map.
A standalone structure would cool the political temperature around Amkor’s Chinese assets while preserving a toehold in the world’s largest electronics manufacturing base.
