Foxconn chip cooperating with Zhuhai
Foxconn Technology Group, the Taiwanbased electronics contract manufacturer, confirmed to the Global Times on Monday that it would cooperate with the government of Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province, in semiconductor-related operations.
The cooperation will cover the design and production of semiconductors.
Foxconn declined to release details beyond the statement posted on the website of Zhuhai government on Friday.
“Foxconn showed its willingness to enter the semiconductor industry a year ago, and by cooperating with Zhuhai, it could also take advantage of the government’s preferential policy to achieve its own development strategy,” Liu Kun, vice general manager of the IC Industry Research Center at CCID Consulting, told the Global Times on Monday. Zhuhai has a good industrial base for the chip industry.
The move also comes as China is aiming to develop its semiconductor sector due to increasing restrictions foreign countries have imposed on China and the lesson of ZTE, which has been hit by US sanctions.
In the first quarter of 2018, China’s chip industry continued to post rapid growth. Sales reached 115.29 billion yuan ($16.81 billion), up 20.8 percent year-on-year.
Chip design rose 22 percent, chip manufacturing expanded 26.2 percent and testing gained 19.6 percent, the China Semiconductor Industry Association said.
Liu added that Foxconn is not the only such company that wants to expand in China, eying the policy dividends provided by the Chinese government. “Qualcomm and Samsung have also indicated they wish to enter China in the semiconductor industry,” said Liu, adding that these companies were “quite happy to know that they were not excluded.”
The company will build a chip fabrication plant in Zhuhai, according to a report from the Washington Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. However, some industry insiders expressed doubts about the cooperation, since Foxconn lacks a talent pool for chip fabrication.
“To operate a chip fabrication plant, you need an experienced team of around five to 10 people. We don’t know whether Foxconn has hired enough qualified people to start the business,” Liu noted.
“The development of the Greater Bay Area [an initiative to integrate the economies of Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong Province] has brought a rare opportunity for Zhuhai, and I’m confident about Zhuhai’s future,” said Terry Guo, the chief executive of Foxconn.
According to the statement, the company will also develop projects related to the industrial internet, 5G, 8K ultra highdefinition technology and artificial intelligence, in a bid to boost Zhuhai into a significant base for semiconductor development.