English
Foundry IPOs are finding a cool reception in China
Mike Clendenin, EE Times
(04/10/2006 10:00 AM EDT)
Shanghai, China — In a country that can only produce about 20 percent of the chips it consumes, a foundry IPO should be a cinch. Should be, but isn't. The tepid response to the recent news of an initial public offering by China's leading analog foundry shows just how tough it is to make chip-manufacturing pay here.
Shanghai-based Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ltd. (ASMC) is expected to begin trading its shares in Hong Kong this week. However, these days, retail investors favor the hum-drum, low-tech enterprises like Hunan Nonferrous Metals and Nine Dragons Paper over the glitz of modern semiconductor fabs.
This isn't how it was supposed to happen. High tech is popular in China, attracting more than 100,000 fresh graduates a year. The field also enjoys preferential policies from the government and the attention of hundreds of foreign system and chip companies. So what's happening? The answer is pretty straightforward: global competition is getting more severe for fabs in China. Whether it's bulk silicon provider Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co., or niche player ASMC, it's been tough to keep operations in the black.
(04/10/2006 10:00 AM EDT)
Shanghai, China — In a country that can only produce about 20 percent of the chips it consumes, a foundry IPO should be a cinch. Should be, but isn't. The tepid response to the recent news of an initial public offering by China's leading analog foundry shows just how tough it is to make chip-manufacturing pay here.
Shanghai-based Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ltd. (ASMC) is expected to begin trading its shares in Hong Kong this week. However, these days, retail investors favor the hum-drum, low-tech enterprises like Hunan Nonferrous Metals and Nine Dragons Paper over the glitz of modern semiconductor fabs.
This isn't how it was supposed to happen. High tech is popular in China, attracting more than 100,000 fresh graduates a year. The field also enjoys preferential policies from the government and the attention of hundreds of foreign system and chip companies. So what's happening? The answer is pretty straightforward: global competition is getting more severe for fabs in China. Whether it's bulk silicon provider Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co., or niche player ASMC, it's been tough to keep operations in the black.
|
E-mail This Article | 
|
|
Printer-Friendly Page |
Related News
- China and US Bolster Semiconductor Independence as Taiwan's Foundry Capacity Share Projected to Decline to 41% by 2027, Says TrendForce
- China Forecast to Represent 22% of the Foundry Market in 2020
- China Only Region to Register Pure-Play Foundry Market Growth in 2019
- China Market Drives Essentially All Pure-Play Foundry Growth in 2018
- China Forecast to Account for 90% of Pure-Play Foundry Market Growth in 2018
Breaking News
- Ubitium Debuts First Universal RISC-V Processor to Enable AI at No Additional Cost, as It Raises $3.7M
- TSMC drives A16, 3D process technology
- Frontgrade Gaisler Unveils GR716B, a New Standard in Space-Grade Microcontrollers
- Blueshift Memory launches BlueFive processor, accelerating computation by up to 50 times and saving up to 65% energy
- Eliyan Ports Industry's Highest Performing PHY to Samsung Foundry SF4X Process Node, Achieving up to 40 Gbps Bandwidth at Unprecedented Power Levels with UCIe-Compliant Chiplet Interconnect Technology
Most Popular
- Cadence Unveils Arm-Based System Chiplet
- CXL Fabless Startup Panmnesia Secures Over $60M in Series A Funding, Aiming to Lead the CXL Switch Silicon Chip and CXL IP
- Esperanto Technologies and NEC Cooperate on Initiative to Advance Next Generation RISC-V Chips and Software Solutions for HPC
- Eliyan Ports Industry's Highest Performing PHY to Samsung Foundry SF4X Process Node, Achieving up to 40 Gbps Bandwidth at Unprecedented Power Levels with UCIe-Compliant Chiplet Interconnect Technology
- Arteris Selected by GigaDevice for Development in Next-Generation Automotive SoC With Enhanced FuSa Standards