In recent days, the second phase of the big fund has newly invested in Xilinx Microelectronics. There are currently a total of 4 Chongqing companies participating in the investment of the second phase of the big fund. Chongqing continues to increase investment in the semiconductor industry, and the power semiconductor production capacity is currently among the top three in the country. It is expected to become the largest power semiconductor base in the country by the end of the "14th Five-Year" period in China.
On July 19th, the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" reported (Reporter Huang Xiumei) that the big fund continued to invest in regional enterprises in Chongqing.
According to the business information, China National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the second phase of the Big Fund) has recently made another move and invested in Chongqing Xilinx Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Xilinx Microelectronics), with a subscribed capital of 2.155 billion yuan.
Up to now, the second phase of the Big Fund has invested in four Chongqing semiconductor companies.
The reporter of the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" noticed that in the ranking of invested companies in the regions, Shanghai and Beijing still have the most invested companies, with 12 and 8 respectively; Anhui, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces followed closely with 5 each; Hubei and Chongqing each had 4 companies invested, and Jiangsu had 3.
Four Chongqing companies have been favored by the second phase of the Big Fund.
The reporter of the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" noticed that the latest project that the second phase of the Big Fund has invested in, Xilinx Microelectronics, is a 12-inch high-end characteristic integrated circuit production line project that Chongqing Municipal Government has made a great effort to build.
With a total investment of over 25 billion yuan, it was registered in Chongqing on October 27, 2023 and focused on the 55-28nm technology node. The total planned production capacity is 0.04 million pieces/month, with the first phase production capacity of 0.02 million pieces/month.
According to the information on the website of the Chongqing Municipal Government in November 2023, Xilinx Microelectronics aims to build the most advanced characteristic wafer factory and the world's leading automobile chip manufacturing enterprise in the western region, and is located in the Chongqing West Yong Microelectronics Industry Park, which is the only one in China that is named after "microelectronics". This industry park has also gathered many leading Chongqing semiconductor enterprises. Apart from the second phase of the Big Fund, the other three shareholders of Xilinx Microelectronics are also Chongqing state-owned capital.
(List of Xilinx Microelectronics shareholders according to business information)
The reporter of the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" noticed that in the other Chongqing companies invested by the second phase of the Big Fund, there are 2 companies from China Resources Microelectronics, namely Runxi Microelectronics and China Resources Runan.
Among them, Runxi Microelectronics focuses on the production line project of 12-inch power semiconductor wafers; China Resources Runan is a power semiconductor testing and packaging base invested by China Resources Microelectronics in Chongqing. In addition, there is also Zhenbao Technology, which is engaged in the research, development and manufacturing of core components for semiconductor equipment and advanced ceramic materials.
(List of Chongqing companies invested by the second phase of the Big Fund)
An investor said in an interview with the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily", "Technology, testing, wafers, components, and advanced materials are currently the focuses of the second phase of the Big Fund in Chongqing."
"The investment of the Big Fund in Chongqing enterprises is also related to the current status of Chongqing's industrial development, industrial development strategy, and the end applications that the second phase of the Big Fund is concerned about, such as smart automobiles, smart grids, AI, etc." said the above-mentioned investor.
In recent years, Chongqing has continued to invest heavily in the semiconductor industry chain and plans to build an integrated circuit design and testing industry cluster with significant influence. At present, Chongqing has formed a complete chain of "chip design-wafer manufacturing-packaging testing-raw material matching" and has become one of the important bases for the integrated circuit industry, effectively supporting the local demand for end applications such as automotive electronics, industry, and consumer electronics.
Chongqing's key enterprises in the integrated circuit industry chain, including China Resources Microelectronics, SK Hynix, China Electronics Technology Group's Chip Group, the Joint Microelectronics Center, San'an Optoelectronics, and STMicroelectronics, have all settled in Chongqing.
The "Chongqing Integrated Circuit Design Industry Development Action Plan (2023-2027)" also clearly states that by 2027, the city's integrated circuit design industry revenue will exceed 12 billion yuan, with more than 100 new enterprises, and at least 1 enterprise with revenue over 0.5 billion yuan and 4 enterprises with revenue over 0.2 billion yuan. 100-300 billion yuan products operating income of 401/1288/60 million yuan respectively.
Automotive demand will boost the power semiconductor industry.
"The development of the Chongqing integrated circuit industry, especially the power semiconductor industry chain, is inseparable from the demand and application of power semiconductors in the terminal automotive field." Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangaea Think Tank, stated in an interview with the Star Daily that Chongqing's automotive chip industry is in a rapid development stage. With the expansion of the new energy vehicle market, Chongqing's automotive chip industry will also face unprecedented development opportunities.
Zhang Bo, director of the Sichuan Power Semiconductor Technology Engineering Research Center, analyzed in an interview with the Star Daily reporter that compared with fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles have a greater demand for power devices, including power semiconductor components such as DC-DC modules, electric motor control systems, battery management systems, and OBCs.
Li Hong, President of China Resources Microelectronics, once mentioned a set of figures: By 2025, automotive chips will account for about 14% of the global semiconductor market, and power semiconductors, analog ICs, MCUs and memories will exceed 50 billion US dollars. Among them, power semiconductors will account for 40%, reaching 23.5 billion US dollars. "The popularity of automotive intelligence will increase the volume of sensors, and the scale of MEMS sensors will reach 3 billion US dollars."
Yushi Capital once analyzed that in terms of semiconductor types, MCU has the highest content in traditional fuel vehicles (23%), and power semiconductors have the highest content in new energy vehicles (55%). This means that as the terminal market of new energy vehicles further expands, the demand for upstream power semiconductors in the industry chain will also increase.
Is Chongqing becoming a "new noble" in power semiconductors?
According to the official website of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government, in 2023, Chongqing's power semiconductor production capacity ranks among the top three in the country and is expected to become the largest power semiconductor base in the country at the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan".
At the same time, from January to May this year, Chongqing's automobile production reached 0.997 million vehicles, surpassing Guangzhou to become the city with the highest automobile production in China. After 8 years, Chongqing returned to the "China's No. 1 Automobile City". During the same period, Chongqing's new energy vehicle production reached 0.306 million vehicles, with a growth rate of 144.1%.
Many market insiders agree with the "new noble" view. It mainly comes from Chongqing's strong investment in the power semiconductor industry, and its bullish outlook on its automobile industry, especially the trillion-level intelligent networked new energy automobile industry in the future.
"Chongqing is building a trillion-level intelligent networked new energy automotive industry, and the highly anticipated 'vehicle-road cloud integration', etc., will further increase the demand for power semiconductors. The application areas of power semiconductors are not limited to new energy vehicles, but also include intelligent terminals, laptops, home appliances, and almost all electrical devices require power semiconductor components." Zhang Bo, director of the Sichuan Power Semiconductor Technology Engineering Research Center, further stated.