From the signing boom to the construction boom, more than 300 billion semiconductor projects were landed, started, and invested in March

The signing momentum was strong in the first half of the year, but weakened slightly in the second half of the year

In terms of contract signing and implementation in March, integrated circuit and panel projects were implemented in more than 12 provinces and 17 cities, with the highest investment exceeding US$2 billion. From the perspective of time distribution, the contract signing momentum was strong in the first half of the month, while the contract signing and implementation momentum slowed down slightly in the second half of the month.

Among them, the two major projects in Shanghai - Gpixel's 12-inch project and the headquarters of Unigroup Spreadtrum & EDGE - have attracted much attention .

GalaxyCore 12-inch project

On March 5, GalaxyCore Microelectronics (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement with the Lingang New Area Management Committee of Shanghai Free Trade Zone, planning to invest in the construction of the "12-inch CIS integrated circuit characteristic process research and development and industrialization project" in the new area. The project is expected to invest US$2.2 billion and is scheduled to start in the middle of this year, with the first phase completed in 2023.

According to Jiwei.com, the 12-inch line project of GalaxyCore in Lingang mainly focuses on back-end packaging technology in the early stage, aiming to cope with the surge in production capacity demand and seek to advance to the high-end. The greater significance lies in that the Lingang project may be the starting point of GalaxyCore's grand strategy, that is, to establish a complete Fab, transform from Fabless to IDM, and further grasp the initiative and competitiveness in its own hands.

Unisoc Headquarters

On March 31, the 2020 Shanghai Major Industrial Project Signing Ceremony and Characteristic Industrial Park Promotion Event was held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Among the signed projects was the Ziguang ZTE headquarters project in the integrated circuit field.

Third Generation Semiconductor Project

According to news in March, the Voice Fund managed by Hefei Industrial Investment Capital signed an investment agreement with Beijing Century Golden Optoelectronics Semiconductor Co., Ltd. and completed the first phase of investment, marking the official landing of Hefei's first third-generation semiconductor industry project. Hefei Industrial Investment Capital participated in Century Golden Optoelectronics' C round of financing as the lead investor. In the next step, Hefei Industrial Investment Capital will cooperate with Century Golden Optoelectronics to invest in the construction of a 6-inch silicon carbide single crystal growth and processing project in Hefei High-tech Zone.

On March 30, Nanjing Jiangbei New District held a signing ceremony for the landmark industry of "City of Chips", which included the Super Star Semiconductor project. Jiangsu Super Star Semiconductor Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the research and development and industrialization of 6-8 inch SiC silicon carbide chip substrates. At present, the company has launched large-size silicon carbide expanded diameter crystals, achieving a breakthrough in thickness, which is a technologically advanced third-generation semiconductor product. After the headquarters moves into the Research and Innovation Park, it will promote the listing plan. The project plans to achieve an annual output of 30,000 6-inch silicon carbide substrates in three years. In the future, it will further develop SiC cutting, grinding and polishing processes based on SiC substrate products to create a benchmark enterprise in the domestic SiC industry.

On March 20, Jiaxing Science and Technology City and Zhejiang Bofang Jiaxin Integrated Circuit Technology Co., Ltd. officially signed a contract to jointly build the Third Generation Semiconductor Industry Technology Research Institute. In November last year, Bofang Jiaxin's gallium nitride RF and power device project was signed and settled in the Science and Technology City, and construction started in March this year. The total investment of the project is 2.5 billion yuan. In order to smoothly promote the industrialization of gallium nitride RF and power devices and promote the development of the third-generation semiconductor industry in Jiaxing Science and Technology City, the Third Generation Semiconductor Industry Technology Research Institute came into being.