Tag: smic

China Corruption Watchdog Probing Head of State-Backed Chip-Focused ‘Big Fund’: Details

China’s corruption watchdog said it was investigating the head of the country’s largest state-backed chip investment fund, just over two weeks after it announced a similar probe into a former executive linked to the fund.

Ding Wenwu, the head of China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the “Big Fund“, is “suspected of serious violations of the law” and is “currently undergoing disciplinary review, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on Saturday.

It did not disclose more details. Reuters was unable to reach Ding for comment. The Big Fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China launched the Big Fund in 2014 as a means to accelerate its semiconductor industry, which is considered to lag behind that of the United States, Taiwan and South Korea.

The organisation raised CNY 138.7 billion (roughly Rs. 162 crore) for its first fund, and CNY 204 billion (roughly Rs. 238 crore) for its second fund.

Over the years, the fund has provided financing to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s leading chip fab, Yangtze Memory Technologies Companies Limited (YMTC), a maker of flash memory, and a number of smaller companies and funds.

In July, the CCDI announced it had placed Lu Jun, former head of investment firm Sino IC Capital, which managed the Big Fund, under investigation, citing “serious violation of discipline and the law.”

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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Semiconductor Exports to Russia Said to Have Plunged by 90 Percent After Curbs Following Ukraine Invasion

Global exports of semiconductors to Russia have plummeted by 90 percent since the United States and allies slapped export controls on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday.

Raimondo, speaking at an annual Commerce Department conference, also said that controls placed on Russia’s aerospace sector were hammering its ability to generate revenue and support military aviation.

“Russia may be forced to ground between half and two-thirds of its commercial aircraft in the next four years in order to cannibalize them for spare parts,” she added.

The remarks came a day after US President Joe Biden’s administration added five companies in China to a trade blacklist on Tuesday for allegedly supporting Russia’s military and defense industrial base, flexing its muscle to enforce sanctions against Moscow.

The United States has worked with allies to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special operation”, by sanctioning a raft of Russian companies and oligarchs and adding others to a trade blacklist.

While US officials had previously said that China was generally complying with the restrictions, Washington has vowed to closely monitor compliance and rigorously enforce the regulations.

On Wednesday, Raimondo also doubled down on threats to “shut down” China’s top chipmaker SMIC if it is found to be supplying chips to Russia.

“What if SMIC or other Chinese-based semiconductor companies are found supplying chips to Russia?” she said. “We will shut them down and we can, because almost every chip in the world and in China is made using US equipment and software and I intend to make good on that commitment if it’s necessary.”

© Thomson Reuters 2022

 

 

 

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