Semiconductor Financing Company Established With Support From National IC Fund

On September 20, the National IC Industry Investment Fund and several leading Chinese IC companies announced joint establishment of a semiconductor equipment financing and leasing company in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. 

 

According to a press release on the Shanghai municipal government website, the new company, called Chip Core in English, will aim to "lower production costs for semiconductor manufacturing firms, increase enterprise profitability, and increase the proportion of domestic IC equipment usage." Chip Core has initial registered capital of USD 892 million and another USD 10 billion in committed capital.

 

"Alone, the National IC Fund is not enough to solve the fundamental challenges faced [by China's IC industry]," said Lu Jun, president of Sino IC Capital, the firm in charge of managing the National IC Industry Investment Fund, in an interview with China Economic Net. 

 

"Domestic IC manufacturing enterprises will soon enter a period of concentrated and expended production, and there will be a resulting increase in demand for packaging and testing. This will cause a dramatic increase in the demand for equipment," Lu said in the interview.