Diversified fund investment to boost China's integrated circuit industry

China's integrated circuit industry is showing a momentum of rapid growth and the diversified fund investment will give a boost to the industry, according to industry insiders attending the 2015 Beijing International Seminar on Microelectronics just concluded here.

Statistics released by China Semiconductor Industry Association show that the sales revenue of China's IC industry totaled 159.16 billion yuan in the first half of this year, up 18.9 percent year on year. In a breakdown, the sales revenue of the designing sector reached 55.02 billion yuan, up 28.5 percent; manufacturing sector, 39.59 billion yuan, up 21.4 percent; and packaging and testing sector, 64.55 billion yuan, up 10.5 percent.

Figures released by the General Administration of Customs show that China imported 198.24 billion pieces of ICs in the first eight months of this year, up 10.2 percent year on year, and the imports valued 135.92 billion U.S. dollars, up 4.7 percent. The exports of ICs rose 18.3 percent year on year to 114.14 billion pieces, and the value of exports grew 2.5 percent to 39.52 billion dollars.

The National Outline for Promoting the Development of China's Integrated Circuit Industry was issued in 2014, and then a 120-billion-yuan national IC industry fund was established. The fund has so far formed a size of 138.72 billion yuan. Ding Wenwu, general manager of the national IC industry investment fund, said the fund has invested in 18 programs with committed investment totaling 31.5 billion yuan and around 12 billion yuan put in place, and its investment scope covers the entire industry chain and building of ecological environment.

Companies funded include Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., Vimicro Corp., Goke Microelectronics, Sanan Optoelectronics (600703.SH), and Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (600584.SH). Ding noted that China still lacks of acquisition subjects with strong economic and technologic power and international operation experiences, and the national fund thus will be rational in dealing with and participating in international merger and acquisition.