China moving to prevent blind investment in third-generation semiconductors
digitimes.com
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willis Ke, DIGITIMES Monday 28 December 2020 0 Toggle Dropdown
China plans to invest big to build its homegrown third-generation compound semiconductors sector, but is also moving to prevent blind investments by Chinese players, asking them to focus on core businesses, according to industry sources.
In its 14th Five-year Plan for 2021-2025, China will funnel CNY10 trillion (US$1.53 trillion) to support the development of third-generation semiconductors including SiC (silicon carbide), which will be increasingly applied to 5G base stations, EVs, charging piles, AIoT systems, and more, prompting many Chinese firms to deepen presence in the segment, the sources said.
But China's state-controlled SiC wafer vendor TankeBlue Semiconductor, with Huawei among its shareholders, unexpectedly withdrew in late October its IPO application from the Shanghai Stock Exchange for failing to meet IPO listing terms, and will re-submit the application latter, the sources noted, adding that the withdrawal mainly resulted from China's regulators tightening screening on the company's financial statement and operating plans.
Besides SiC wafers, TankeBlue also turns defective wafers into mossisanites as a sideline to create overall revenues. But China regulators require more on the company maximizing regular SiC applications and minimizing by-product output, the sources said.
Over the past few years, many SiC plants in China have relied on sub-product lines to imporve finances. But the China government apparently has set new criteria for the vendors to qualify for subsidies or IPO listing seeking to steer the development of the third-generation semiconductor sector in a healthier direction, the sources said. |
