China launches major push to expand semiconductor manufacturing
May 29, 2018 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
At least 46 big-budget semiconductor projects are scheduled to be built in China within two to three years, as part of the nation’s broader push to reduce reliance on foreign chip manufacturers. The move comes as China is expediting its research and development of core chip technologies, narrowing the gap between its integrated circuit industry and those of the world’s leading nations in this field.
To realize the goal, a number of provinces and municipalities are seeking to attract semiconductor companies to build factories and R&D centers. In Guangdong province, two semiconductor projects are under construction and will be completed by 2020, with a combined investment of CNY18.6 billion. Another two projects are scheduled to break ground this year, with their total investment reaching CNY4.6 billion, according to the province’s 2018 key project plans. Meanwhile, 15 chip-related projects are either under construction or will be built in Jiangsu province, including plants that make chips for cameras and automobiles, as well as factories producing semiconductor equipment. Companies such as Tsinghua Unigroup and SK Hynix are participating in these projects. In Anhui province, two semiconductor projects will be constructed, with a combined investment of CNY3 billion. A national innovation center for smart sensors will be built to overcome crucial technological bottlenecks.
Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corp, the city’s largest integrated circuit investment project, saw its first lithography machine imported from Dutch ASML installed on its 12-inch wafer silicon assembly line. The NXT 1980Di is the most advanced immersion lithography tool in the Chinese market. Construction of Huali’s 12-inch wafer silicon assembly line started on December 30, 2016, and has attracted a total investment of CNY38.7 billion. Construction is due to be completed by the end of 2022, when it will have a monthly production capacity of 40,000 wafers. According to global chip market consulting firm DRAMeXchange, 10 production lines for 12-inch wafers were in operation in China by the beginning of this year. Another three production lines are being planned and 11 others are under construction, including the one at Huali.
The intensified push comes as China attaches growing importance to microchips. In recent years, China has spent more than USD200 billion on imported chips annually, more than it spends on crude oil imports, the China Daily reports.
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