2017年には中国でのプライムウェーハ事業の進出を発表し、2018年に中国の国有企業である北京有色金属研究総院（現 有研科技集団有限公司 以下、GRINM）及び福建倉元投資有限公司（以下、福建倉元）との3社間で、合弁会社となる北京有研RS半導体科技有限公司（以下、BGRS）を設立した。同時に、BGRSがGRINMの子会社でシリコン部材やプライムウェーハの製造販売を行うGRITEKに出資し、完全子会社化した。BGRSへの出資比率は同社が45%、GRINMが49%、福建倉元が6%となっており、同社の出資比率は50%を下回る。しかし、福建倉元は同社代表取締役社長である方永義（ほうながよし）氏の親族が運営する投資会社で同社側が実質的に50%以上を保有し、BGRSの董事会を構成する董事5名のうち3名を同社が指名していることから実質的に経営権を有しているとみなし、連結対象子会社としている。BGRSが複雑な出資スキームとなっているのは、中国現地資本の出資比率が50%以上であれば内資企業として取り扱われ、中国政府や地方政府から設備投資等で各種補助金の取得が可能なこと、また、税制面での優遇メリットも享受でき、外資系企業に対して競争上優位に立てるためだ。■RS Technologies ＜3445＞ Company Overview
1. HISTORY
The company was established in 2010/12 after Rasa Kogyo (4022) withdrew from the silicon wafer recycling business and took over its equipment. Since then, we have developed a silicon wafer recycling business with a two-plant system: the Sanbongi Plant (Osaki-shi, Miyagi-ken) and the Tainan Plant (completed in 2015) of Ayers Semiconductor Stock Co., Ltd., a subsidiary newly established in Taiwan in 2014.
In 2017, the expansion of the prime wafer business in China was announced, and in 2018, Beijing Youken RS Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter, BGRS), which is a joint venture between the three companies, Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute (currently, GRINM), which is a Chinese state-owned enterprise, and Fujian Cangyuan Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, Fujian Cangyuan) was established. At the same time, BGRS invested in GRINM's subsidiary GRITEK, which manufactures and sells silicon components and prime wafers, and made it a wholly owned subsidiary. The company's investment ratio in BGRS is 45%, GRINM is 49%, and Fujian warehouse is 6%, and the company's investment ratio is below 50%. However, Fujian Kuramoto is an investment company operated by a relative of Mr. Fang Yongyi (Honagoshi), who is the company's president and representative director, and since the company actually holds 50% or more, and since the company has appointed 3 of the 5 directors constituting the board of directors of BGRS, it is assumed that they actually have management rights, and it is a consolidated subsidiary. The reason why BGRS has a complicated investment scheme is that if the investment ratio of local capital in China is 50% or more, it is treated as a domestic enterprise, and it is possible to obtain various subsidies from the Chinese government or local government for capital investment, etc., and it can also enjoy preferential benefits in terms of the tax system, giving it a competitive advantage over foreign-affiliated companies.
In order to further expand its business, GRITEK established Shandong Youken Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, Shandong GRITEK; investment ratio is 80% GRITEK, Dezhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Jingtai Investment Co., Ltd. 20%) in 2018, and launched the Shandong Plant as a new manufacturing base. Major semiconductor manufacturers are concentrated around Shandong Province, and the fact that science and technology universities are nearby, making it easy to acquire excellent human resources, and being able to enjoy preferential treatment in terms of infrastructure costs such as utility bills and company housing became decisive factors for expansion. Also, in 2020, Shandong Yuken RS Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. (hereafter, SGRS), which handles the 12-inch wafer recycling business and prime wafer business, was established as a joint venture with GRINM and Dezhou government funds, etc. (the company's investment ratio at the beginning of establishment was 19.99%, a company applying the equity method, and currently holds shares through GRITEK), and is promoting business expansion in China. Furthermore, GRITEK listed its stock on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board in 2022/11. GRITEK's investment ratio is over 40%, including indirect ownership, but they are deemed to have substantial management rights and are included in consolidated subsidiaries, and it is our policy to maintain it as a subsidiary in the future.
As for domestic M&A, in 2018, the semiconductor trading company Union Electronics Solution Co., Ltd. and DG Technologies Co., Ltd., which manufactures and sells consumables (quartz rings, silicon electrodes) for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, successively became subsidiaries in 2019, and LE Systems (formerly LE LE), which has been leading the industry for a long time since the 1970s as a pioneer in the development and manufacture of electrolytes for VRFB in 2023/10 LE Systems was newly established as a subsidiary to take over the (system) business, and the business area was expanded to the renewable energy market in addition to the semiconductor market. The reason for deciding to enter the renewable energy market is that it matches the keyword of contributing to society through the “renewable” business that the company has been working on since its founding, and that it is possible to contribute to the SDGs through the same business, and it is also possible to utilize the network with local companies and local governments that the company has built up until now to develop the Chinese market, which is the country with the largest demand for VRFB, and it was determined that the business could be expanded.
(Author: FISCO Visiting Analyst Joe Sato)
