Chinese chip giant to invest $9 bn in new plant as US ban bites

China's biggest chipmaker said Friday it would invest $8.87 billion in a new semiconductor plant in Shanghai, as Beijing is hit by a US blacklist and a global chip shortage.

The country is running extremely low on advanced microchips following a US ban on many sales to the country, and after production lines were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The US government blacklisted Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) last September over security concerns, denying it access to advanced manufacturing equipment from American suppliers.

On Friday SMIC -- which has denied links to the Chinese military -- said it would pour investment into a new chip plant in the east of the country.

"The new plant in Shanghai will produce about 100,000 12-inch wafers per month," SMIC said in filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

These are older-generation chips globally in short supply, and used in everything from home appliances to self-driving cars.

"The US tech export ban has affected plans to develop smaller, more advanced chips," the group's CEO Zhang Haijun told state-run Global Times last month.

SMIC has received billions of dollars in support from Beijing and is at the heart of its efforts to improve the country's technological self-sufficiency.

There has been a flurry of new investment pledges by chipmakers after major Chinese tech hubs announced concessions including tax breaks and low rents in recent months.

SMIC announced plans to build smaller semiconductor factories in Beijing and Shenzhen earlier this year.

In April, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. -- the world's biggest contract chipmaker -- said it would invest $2.8 billion to expand its production capacity in Nanjing.

Related Links
Computer Chip Architecture, Technology and Manufacture
Nano Technology News From SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Berkeley and Caltech team up to build quantum network testbed
Berkeley CA (SPX) Sep 02, 2021
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) will be home to a cutting-edge quantum network testbed, thanks to a new five-year, $12.5 million funding award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Led by personnel from Berkeley Lab's Scientific Networking Division/ESnet, UC Berkeley, and Caltech, the R and D collaboration will also leverage quantum development efforts at Berkeley Lab and beyond. The goal is to build a distributed qu ... read more