🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Resonac’s China exposure stays modest despite large HBM film share

• Resonac’s semiconductor and electronic materials segment, which includes High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) non-conductive films, lifted operating income in 2024 as chip demand improved 1. Filings give no China revenue or capex breakdown 1.
• Q1 2024 saw higher revenue and profit on hard-disk media plus silicon carbide epitaxial wafers 2. Full-year consolidated sales were ¥1,389,277 million, so China growth looks incremental even with a 50% non-conductive film share 1.
• Quarterly reports do not quantify China exposure or HBM materials revenue share, which suggests capacity positioning with limited earnings effect while the mobility unit had lower profit in 2024 231.

Non-Chinese rare earth refiners open 2025-2027 offtake window

• Lynas Rare Earths became the first non-China producer of commercial dysprosium oxide in Malaysia in 2025 using feedstock from Mount Weld with 2 million tons of rare earth oxide reserves 4.
• Arafura Rare Earths’ Nolans project, a mining and processing development, is expected to supply 5% of global rare earths after $100 million in government equity 4. The U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals Framework, a bilateral financing initiative, plans at least $1 billion each within six months for priority projects 4.
• Equity investors and supply-chain operators should secure offtake agreements, which are long-term supply deals, during the 2025-2027 ramp before plants reach full output 5. China banned rare earth extraction and separation technology exports in December 2023, and the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded over $439 million since 2020 to back domestic supply chains 5.