Tech war: China’s top chip maker SMIC admits to delays at new plant as US tightens export of semiconductor equipment
- Delays in obtaining equipment have slowed down mass production at SMIC’s new fabrication plant in Beijing, co-CEO Zhao Haijun said on Friday
- SMIC has no plans to increase its capital spending in 2023, as the global semiconductor industry weathers a downturn, Zhao said
Zhao Haijun, co-CEO of SMIC, said at a post-earnings conference call on Friday that delays in obtaining “bottleneck equipment” have slowed down progress at its Jingcheng project in Beijing, which began construction in January 2021 and was originally scheduled for completion by 2024.
Zhao did not specify the equipment that has held back mass production at the plant, but his remarks come after the US tightened its control on the export of semiconductor equipment to China, while pressuring allies to do the same.
Zhao’s comments also stand in contrast to the confidence he expressed just a year ago about the development of SMIC’s new fabrication plants. At the time, he said the new facilities in Beijing and Shenzhen were “progressing steadily” amid special efforts made by the company to overcome setbacks in the supply chain.
The Jingcheng project, which has a capital base of US$5 billion, is one of four mature 28-nanometre fabs that SMIC is building across China. It is the result of a joint venture with China’s state semiconductor fund and the local government, with SMIC holding a 51 per cent stake.
Three other new SMIC plants, located in Tianjin, Shenzhen and Shanghai, are in the midst of various stages of construction or production, Zhao said on Friday.
