China semiconductor company cites Devonshire’s ‘Tesla’ as partner in automotive chip venture
- The Anas venture is 55 per cent owned by Annex Semiconductor, 40 per cent by Jinan Zurich Annecy Fund, and 5 per cent by Tesla Motor Limited of Devonshire, UK
- A spokeswoman of Tesla China said the Anas venture in Jinan has “nothing to do” with the San Carlos, California-based carmaker
A company with little track record in the chip industry has set up a venture in China to make semiconductor chip for high-end automobiles including electric vehicles, citing Tesla Motors Limited as a minority partner, according to the Chinese corporate registry Qichacha.
The venture, called Anas Semiconductor (Jinan), has US$150 million in registered capital and is based in the Shandong provincial capital Jinan in eastern China. Its largest shareholder, Annex Semiconductor, owns 55 per cent of the venture, while the Jinan Zurich Annecy Equity Investment Fund Partnership, a newly incorporated firm in September, controls 40 per cent.
The two biggest shareholders share a corporate address in an office building in Jinan. Annex Semiconductor could not be reached for comment.
Qichacha said it obtained its registry data about Anas from the provincial unit of China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
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It was acquired on June 6 by the Zurich Fund, a company registered in Beijing for US$5 billion in cash and assumed debt.
The venture comes as China is pushing for chip self-sufficiency, spurring local governments across China to roll out the red carpet for chip-related projects. Foreign companies associated with marquee names are particularly welcomed.
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Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory is the first wholly foreign-owned car-making plant in China and assembles Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, whose prices range from about 300,000 yuan (US$41,700) to 400,000 yuan. The American giant dominates the mainland’s premium EV segment.
Tesla is pushing for localisation in China, after shipments at Giga Shanghai reached 1 million units in August. At that time, Tesla said China’s domestic supply chain provided 95 per cent of the components and materials it needs for Giga Shanghai, according to a post by PR head Grace Tao Lin on Weibo.
China continues to battle US trade sanctions aimed at restricting its chip-making ability to 14-nanometre, the most advanced technology node at China’s top foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).
