China Invests $100 billion in Tsinghua R&D and Manufacturing

Article By : Dylan McGrath, EE Times

$161 billion in total over 10 years in semiconductor manufacturing, new industrial park in Chongqing

SAN FRANCISCO — Tsinghua Unigroup has joined with China-backed semiconductor investment firm Sino IC Capital and the municipal government of Chongqing in a joint venture that plans to invest up to $100 billion in Tsinghua manufacturing facilities in the next 10 years, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

The joint venture has an initial fund worth about $15.8 billion, according to the report.

As part of the deal, Tsinghua Unigroup — China’s largest chip company — agreed to build an industrial park in Chongqing, a municipality of about 28 million in southwestern China. The park will be home to Tsinghua Unigroup’s R&D center and a manufacturing base for various ICs, according to the Xinhua report.

Sino IC Capital manages China’s National IC Industry Fund, part of China’s ambitious plan to invest more than $161 billion over 10 years to bolster the company’s domestic semiconductor industry.

— Dylan McGrath is the editor-in-chief of EE Times.