China plans to raise funds of up to US$31.6 billion to fuel chip industry
China’s chip strategy aims to reduce a reliance on some US$200 billion of annual semiconductor imports, which the government fears undermines national security and hampers the domestic technology sector
China’s government aims to raise as much as 200 billion yuan (US$31.6 billion) to invest in home-grown chip companies and accelerate its ambition of building a world-class semiconductor industry, according to people familiar with the matter.
The state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co is in talks with government agencies and corporations to raise at least 150 billion yuan for its second fund vehicle, but is angling for up to 200 billion yuan, said the people, who asked not to be identified because that plan has not been publicised.
The China IC Fund intends to begin deploying capital in the second half of this year, they said.
The firm will again invest in a wide range of sectors, from processor design and manufacturing to chip testing and packaging.
That could potentially benefit Chinese industry leaders, from telecommunications equipment makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp to state-owned enterprise Tsinghua Holdings.
The first round of money had gone toward more than 20 listed companies, including ZTE and contract chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, the people said.