While the broader economy transitions to being consumption-led, China continues its investment in its chipmakers. The key question is - can they attract the executive technical and leadership talent needed to really compete with TSMC, Samsung, etc.?
The Shanghai Integrated Circuit Investment Fund (SICIF) has announced a plan to invest 20 billion yuan (about $3 billion) in foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and two other Shanghai-based chip manufacturers, according to a Moody's Investors Service report. Although the funds are to be split between three manufacturers Moody's expects SMIC to get at least one quarter or about $750 million. Moody's sees the announcement as positive for SMIC which is China's leading chip foundry but one that is struggling to get close enough to the leading-edge to trouble market leaders such as TSMC, Samsung and Globalfoundries.