Taiwanese circuit board maker Zhen Ding surged in early trading on hopes it picks up business from rival Unimicron, though analysts doubt the orders will actually move.

• Unimicron is caught up in a scandal over disguising where its boards were made, and traders bet customers will take their business elsewhere.
• Zhen Ding rose more than 8% at one point, its highest level since late July, with Huatong also seen as a winner.
• Zhen Ding is spending heavily on new capacity, with this year's investment budget the biggest in the industry and high spending planned through 2028.
• Its server, optical module and chip substrate work has roughly doubled as a share of sales this year, and is meant to reach nearly half by 2030.
• Analysts pour cold water on the trade: the Unimicron problem involves ordinary circuit boards, not the advanced chip substrates that are already sold out.

Outlook: The rally looks driven by sentiment rather than real order shifts, so it may fade unless customers actually move business away from Unimicron.