HTC has announced that its subsidiary HTC Electronics (Shanghai) will invest in two semiconductor industry funds in China to get access of chip supplies.
This is the first time that HTC invested in Chinese semiconductor industry funds. Most of their non-core investments were in startups related to VR/AR contents or applications.
The company disclosed in a January 7 press release that its investment in Kun Qiao (Suzhou) Semiconductor Industry Equity Investment Fund II (Limited Partnership) will not exceed CNY50 million, while that in Kun Qiao (Xiamen) Semiconductor Industry Equity Investment Fund II (Limited Partnership) will be limited under CNY250 million. In other words, its total investment in the semiconductor funds were under CNY300 million, or approximately US$48 million.
The Kun Qiao (Xiamen) semiconductor industry fund will focus on IC design, advanced manufacturing, digital economy, innovation R&D platform, etc, with the goal of raising CNY45 billion in total amount to invest in more than 40 projects in the Xiamen Huoju High Tech Zone.
Analysts quoted by media said as China will continue to pursue self-sufficiency to produce chips domestically in the next 10 years, many companies have been investing in the semiconductor investment funds supported by the government to secure their access to IC production or IC design capacities in China.
Besides HTC, MediaTek and Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) have also made similar deals to invest in the semiconductor investment funds in China.
