PCB concept stocks are among the top gainers. At the time of writing, KB LAMINATES (01888) rose 10.36% to HK$49; DELTON (01989) increased 7.95% to HK$194.2; VGT (02476) climbed 7.11% to HK$370.8; and KINGBOARD HLDG (00148) advanced 5.79% to HK$76.4.

Since the beginning of the year, driven by rising downstream demand and increasing costs of raw materials like electronic fabric and copper foil, the price of copper-clad laminate (CCL) has been on a sustained upward trend. On April 28, KINGBOARD HLDG announced a 10% price increase for CCL. Following a previous 10% hike on April 3, this marks the second price adjustment within the month, highlighting the strong cost-pass-through capability and smooth pricing mechanisms of leading industry players.

A research report from Guojin Securities noted that AI demand is robust in both the short and medium term. Currently, several AI-PCB companies are experiencing strong order books, operating at full capacity with full sales, and are actively expanding production, suggesting sustained high-performance growth is likely. Demand for AI-related CCL is particularly strong. With overseas CCL production expansion progressing slowly, leading CCL manufacturers in mainland China are well-positioned to benefit.