The concept of fiber optics "explodes" again, with Yangtze Optical Fiber reaching the daily limit and hitting a new all-time high

April 2, the fiber optic concept continued to strengthen. Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (601869.SH) once touched the daily price limit intraday. Tefa Information (000070.SZ) and Hengtong Optoelectrics (600487.SH) rose by more than 6%, setting fresh historical highs. Earlier, Huamai Technology (603042.SH) and Huiyuan Communications (000586.SZ) hit the daily price limit. Chengyi Tong (300430.SZ), Tongding Interconnection (002491.SZ), Zhongtian Technology (600522.SH) and others followed the rally.

On the news front, according to reports, scientists at University College London in the UK have set a new record for the current commercial optical-fiber data transmission speed—(Tb/s). This speed is equivalent to ten times that of current commercial networks.

In addition, a research report from CITIC Construction & Investment Securities stated that in February this year, China exported 3,779.9 tons of optical fiber, with a value of 7.9 billion yuan, up 63.6% and 126.8% year over year. If converted into kilometer figures, in February China exported approximately 25.2 million fiber-core kilometers of optical fiber, accounting for about 65% of the country’s effective monthly fiber production.

Besides that, for domestic G.652.D single-mode optical fiber, some manufacturers’ quotes have broken through 50 yuan per core kilometer, while the market average has held steady at above 40 yuan, reaching a near seven-year historical high. Retail prices for optical fiber and optical cable have continued to rise since the end of 2025. GF Securities said the tight supply-side situation cannot be alleviated in the short term, and optical fiber prices are expected to continue their upward trend.

Industry insiders believe that the sharp rally in the optical-fiber sector is mainly driven by higher optical-fiber prices and the explosive demand for AI computing power.

A research report from China Galaxy Securities said that on the demand side, intelligent computing centers have seen a large increase in demand for DCI (data center interconnection), full-optical networks, and other categories. According to CWW and CRU data, in 2025 global demand for optical fiber and optical cable is expected to grow by 4.1% year over year, while total demand for data-center optical fiber and optical cable is projected to increase by 75.9% year over year. In the future, it will drive global optical-fiber demand to rise to 880 million fiber-core kilometers by 2027. On the supply side, because the global production expansion cycle for optical fiber preforms is relatively long (the expansion cycle for optical fiber preforms is about 2 years), but against the backdrop of earlier price pressure, overall expansion has been relatively conservative, and the market currently is generally tilted toward specialty optical fibers. Combining demand and supply on both sides, the institution believes that optical fiber and optical cable prices still have room to rise.

Open Source Securities believes that “AIDC construction, DCI interconnection, and drone demand” form a triple resonance for optical-fiber demand. From the supply perspective, because optical fiber preforms have characteristics such as a long expansion cycle and difficulty in increasing capacity, the supply-demand imbalance or persistent shortage may continue, and optical-fiber prices may continue to rise.