Exclusive | Demand for Hong Kong-designed semiconductors seen increasing with rise of the Greater Bay Area

Hong Kong’s chip design capabilities will likely be in high demand as the Greater Bay Area further develops smart infrastructure and as the city positions itself as a hub for innovation and technology, according to a leading Hong Kong research engineer.

The bay area plan, which consists of nine southern mainland Chinese cities as well as Hong Kong and Macau, has the potential to unlock huge potential for third-generation semiconductors that can be used in electric vehicles, 5G technology and for smart manufacturing and transport, said Daniel Shi, senior director of integrated circuits and systems at the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) of Hong Kong.

“We cannot find a place anywhere else in the world where so many big companies are located in such a small region, and with such huge potential demand for third-generation semiconductors,” said Shi in an interview last week.

Third-generation semiconductors, which are gallium nitride and silicon carbide-based devices with higher voltage and temperature resistance than traditional silicon-based materials, is a major focus area for ASTRI, which has around 150 engineers working on chips.

Interest from the global tech community in Hong Kong is on the rise and more than five mainland-based companies have set up branches that involve integrated circuit R&D in Hong Kong in the past couple of years, according to Shi. He attributes the growing interest to Beijing’s plan to build up the Greater Bay Area and to the Hong Kong government’s continued investment in technology R&D, including semiconductors.