China has assigned a new head to a high-profile, state-backed chip investment fund amid a renewed push to pour resources into the local semiconductor industry and counter a US-led blockade of the country’s technological development.
Zhang Xin (張新) is to become president of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co (國家集成電路投資基金), popularly known as the Big Fund, Chinese corporate data service provider Tianyancha (天眼查) said.
Zhang was previously a mid-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese news outlet Caixin said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Big Fund was tarnished by an anti-graft probe last year, which led to the downfall of its previous chief and several other officials.
Top Chinese leaders ordered investigations after they grew frustrated with a lack of breakthrough in developing semiconductors to replace foreign imports after years of ample government investments, at a time when the US and its allies are tightening restrictions on China’s access to critical technologies.
The secretive Big Fund is Beijing’s primary vehicle for doling out capital to the country’s chipmakers. Founded in 2014, it drew about US$45 billion in capital and backed scores of companies, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯國際) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (長江存儲).
The fund operated mostly behind the scenes and kept investment standards away from public view, which some analysts said undercut accountability.
Zhang replaced Ding Wenwu (丁文武) as the fund’s president on Friday, and a day later replaced him as the head of China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase II Co (中國集成電路產業投資基金二期), another state-backed chip fund, Tianyancha said.
Zhang is listed as a first-class technology inspector on the Web site of the technology ministry’s planning bureau, while Ding was once director of the ministry’s electronic information bureau, outranking Zhang.
The Big Fund became somewhat dormant for a few months following the anti-graft investigations, but it sprang back into action earlier this year, pledging an additional investment into Yangtze Memory, China’s top memorychip maker, which has been blacklisted by the US.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
Packed into a small room, a drone, bipedal robot, supermarket checkout and other devices showcase a vision of China’s software future — one where an operating system developed by national champion Huawei (華為) has replaced Windows and Android. The collection is at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Center in the southern city of Shenzhen, a local government-owned entity that encourages authorities, companies and hardware makers to develop software using OpenHarmony (鴻蒙), an open-source version of the operating system Huawei launched five years ago after US sanctions cut off support for Google’s Android. While Huawei’s recent strong-selling smartphone launches have been closely watched for
The waves of the Aegean Sea lap gently at the tables and chairs of two beach restaurants on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula. It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal. Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori Beach do not have a license to set up shop so close to the water. After a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action. It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK