Nvidia Invests $5 Billion in Intel and Reaches Chip Cooperation Agreement. Yesterday, Spot Market Trading Was Relatively Active [SMM Tin Morning News].

SMM Tin Morning Brief on September 19, 2025:

Futures: The most-traded SHFE tin contract (SN2510) maintained a fluctuating downward trend during the night session, closing at 267,800 yuan/mt, down 0.89% slightly from the previous trading day.

Macro: (1) Nvidia will invest $5 billion in Intel as part of a collaboration between the two tech giants to develop custom data center and personal computing products. Intel will build custom x86 CPUs for Nvidia, which will integrate these CPUs into its AI infrastructure platform. Intel will also develop a chip system for Nvidia's chiplets that power personal computers. Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun stated, "This historic collaboration tightly integrates Nvidia's AI and accelerated computing stack with Intel's CPUs and vast x86 ecosystem." (2) Nvidia (NVDA.O) announced on Thursday that it will invest $5 billion in Intel (INTC.O) to support the struggling US chip foundry, but did not grant key chip manufacturing orders to Intel. The agreement also includes plans for Intel and Nvidia to jointly develop chips for personal computers and data centers, which could pose potential risks to TSMC (TSM.N). Currently, TSMC produces Nvidia's flagship processors; as the world's most valuable company, Nvidia may potentially shift this business to Intel in the future. AMD, which competes with Intel in the data center chip supply sector, may also suffer losses due to Nvidia's support for Intel. Notably, this deal does not involve Intel's foundry business, i.e., Intel manufacturing chips for Nvidia. Most analysts believe that to sustain Intel's foundry business, it ultimately needs to win major clients like Nvidia, Apple, Qualcomm, or Broadcom. (3) China Charging Alliance released the operation status of national EV charging and battery swapping infrastructure in August 2025. From January to August, the increment of charging infrastructure reached 4.53 million units, up 88.5% YoY. Among them, public charging facilities increased by 737,000 units, up 37.2% YoY, while private charging facilities increased by 3.793 million units, up 103.3% YoY. As of the end of August 2025, the total number of EV charging infrastructure (guns) in China reached 17.348 million, up 53.5% YoY.

Fundamentals: (1) Supply-side disruptions: Tin ore supply is tightening in major production areas like Yunnan, with some smelters maintaining shutdowns for maintenance in September (Bullish ★). (2) Demand side: PV industry: After the installation rush, tin bar orders for PV in east China declined, and operating rates at some producers dropped; Electronics industry: Electronics end-users in south China entered the off-season, coupled with high tin prices, leading to strong wait-and-see sentiment, with orders only meeting essential needs; Other sectors: Demand remained stable in areas like tinplate and chemicals, without exceeding expectations.

Spot Market: As tin prices fell below the 270,000 mark, the purchasing enthusiasm of downstream and end-user enterprises was released, with most downstream and end-user enterprises starting to restock. Yesterday, some traders traded 1-2 truckloads, while others traded more than two truckloads. Overall, the spot market transactions were quite active.

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