Xin'en, Tsinghua Unigroup DRAM and other project plans may be delayed for more than half a year

In the first half of 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, delays and reductions in orders in the semiconductor industry chain were common; major semiconductor projects in various places also experienced plan postponements.

Qingdao Xinen Project

In May 2018, the signing ceremony for the chip project of Xin'en (Qingdao) Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. was held. This is the first CIDM integrated circuit project launched in China. Public information during the signing period showed that the project plans to put the first phase of the entire line into production at the end of 2019 and reach full production in 2022.

On October 28, 2019, Xin'en held a topping-out ceremony for the first phase of the integrated circuit R&D and production project. On December 27 of the same year, Qingdao Xin'en equipment entered the site.

On March 18 this year, Zhang Rujing attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Guangdong HiSilicon Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. R&D and production base project, which led to various suspicions that "Zhang Rujing might give up Qingdao Xin'en". In response, Zhang Rujing issued a statement saying that he was an old acquaintance of the project founder Chen Yongzheng and was only a consultant to the company. He was currently busy installing equipment at Qingdao Xin'en and expected to start trial production before the end of June this year.

The actual progress of the Qingdao Xin'en project is later than originally planned.

In this regard, Jiwei.com reporter interviewed relevant personnel of Xin'en, and Xin'en responded that "it was mainly affected by the epidemic, and the workers were unable to work for more than two months. It is currently progressing as planned and is expected to be put into trial production at the end of July or early August."

Tsinghua Unigroup Chongqing DRAM Project

According to a report by Nikkei Asian Review on June 26, Tsinghua Unigroup plans to start construction of its Chongqing DRAM plant before the end of this year, and expects to achieve mass production in 2022. The group will invest RMB 800 billion to develop its DRAM business and actively get rid of its dependence on overseas suppliers.

In August 2019, Tsinghua Unigroup and the Chongqing Municipal Government signed a cooperation agreement to set up a DRAM headquarters R&D center and a 12-inch DRAM chip factory in Chongqing. It was originally expected to start construction at the end of 2019 and be completed and put into production in 2021.

However, with the outbreak of the epidemic, the investment plan for the project was postponed.

Shanghai Xinyang Hefei Second Base Project

On October 22, 2019, Shanghai Xinyang announced that the company signed the "Shanghai Xinyang Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. Second Production Base Project Investment Cooperation Agreement" with the Management Committee of Hefei Xinzhan High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and started the construction of the second production base project located in Hefei Xinzhan High-tech Industrial Development Zone. The total investment amount of the project is about 600 million yuan, and the project is planned to be built in two phases. The first phase of the project is planned to be completed and put into production within three years.

On June 1 this year, Yu Aihua, member of the Standing Committee of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee, Minister of the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department, and Secretary of the Hefei Municipal Party Committee, discussed project implementation and construction matters with some companies attending the mobilization meeting. Wang Fuxiang, general manager of Shanghai Xinyang Semiconductor Company, and others attended.

On June 19, Shanghai Xinyang said on its investor relations interactive platform that due to the epidemic, the construction of the company's second base in Hefei was slightly delayed compared to the original plan, and is expected to start construction in September. The project is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of key process materials used in chip manufacturing.

In addition, Shanghai Xinyang has been making frequent moves recently. On June 12, 2020, the company signed a "Joint Venture Contract" with the original shareholders of Shengjisheng (Ningbo) Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., and used its own funds to increase the capital of Shengjisheng (Ningbo) by US$5.1143 million; on June 28, Shanghai Xinyang's registered capital increased from RMB 193.765944 million to RMB 290.648916 million, and the registered capital increased by nearly RMB 97 million.

Changdian Suqian Project

The Changdian Technology Integrated Circuit Packaging and Testing Base Project was established in Suqian in May 2018. It is the largest integrated circuit packaging project in northern Jiangsu. The first phase will build a plant of 217,000 square meters and an annual production capacity of 10 billion pieces of high-density hybrid integrated circuits and module packaging product lines for communications.

On November 25, 2019, the first phase of the production plant of the Suqian integrated circuit packaging and testing project was successfully completed. At that time, Lu Huifen, general manager of Changdian Technology Suqian Company, said that the project took a year to build, and now the main plant has been completed. The project has entered the final stage and is expected to be fully delivered in April 2020.

On February 27 this year, Changdian Technology responded to investors' questions on an interactive platform and stated that due to the impact of the epidemic, the delivery and use of the first phase production plant of the Suqian integrated circuit packaging and testing project will be delayed compared to the original plan.

In addition to the Phase I project, the Phase II project also seems to have been affected.

According to a report by Suqian.com in October 2019, the factory building of the Phase II project of Jiangsu Changdian Technology's integrated circuit packaging and testing base is currently under intensive construction and is expected to be completed by the end of November.

In May this year, news from Suxu Industrial Park pointed out that the second phase of the Changdian Technology project in Suqian has been basically completed, and the 220,000 square meter workshop will be fully put into production in June this year.

However, on June 24, Changdian Technology responded to the question of "When will the Changdian Suqian Phase II be put into production" on the interactive platform, stating that the Changdian Suqian factory is expected to be delivered and put into use in August this year, and the specific time of production will depend on the actual development situation.

Saiwei Electronics Yizhuang Project

In 2015, Nawei Technology decided to acquire Sweden's Silex, the world's largest and leading MEMS chip manufacturer. The cross-border negotiations lasted nearly two years. Finally, with the support and help of Beijing Economic Development Zone, Nawei Technology successfully acquired Silex. The sensor production line with a monthly output of 30,000 pieces was established in Beijing Yizhuang. After the project is put into mass production, the annual output value will not be less than 2 billion yuan.

In March 2019, Nawei Technology stated on an interactive platform that it expects the Beijing 8-inch MEMS production line to achieve trial production in the third quarter of 2019 and to be officially put into production in steps in 2020.

On December 25, 2019, the first equipment was officially moved into the 8-inch MEMS chip production line of Nawei Technology in Yizhuang, Beijing.

After that, according to official news from Navtech, its holding subsidiary, Celex, resumed work at its 8-inch MEMS base under construction in Beijing on February 10 this year. As a lithography machine and related equipment had been moved into the base before the Spring Festival, the factory system and clean room remained in operation during the Spring Festival.

In March of this year, Nawei Technology repeatedly stated on interactive platforms that under the background of the epidemic, the Beijing MEMS production line has been actively promoted. After coordination and communication with various Party B units, engineering construction, equipment relocation and other work have been gradually resumed; there are many internal and external factors affecting the trial production, and the specific time cannot be determined for the time being.

At the same time, Nawei Technology emphasized that "moving the equipment into the factory and the subsequent installation and commissioning requires a process, especially in the context of the epidemic, and there are no other special reasons."

It is worth noting that in May this year, Nawei Technology was renamed Saiwei Electronics.

On May 26, Zhengzhou Vice Mayor Wan Zhengfeng and his delegation visited Saiwei Microelectronics for inspection and research. Saiwei Microelectronics Chairman Yang Yunchun said that the construction of the "8-inch MEMS International Foundry Line Construction Project" jointly invested and constructed by the company and the National Integrated Circuit Industry Fund is nearing completion. The factory equipment and process equipment required for the first phase of production capacity have been purchased and moved into the factory. The equipment installation work is being rapidly promoted and is expected to be put into production in the third quarter of this year.

LGD Guangzhou Project

On August 29, 2019, LG Display (hereinafter referred to as LGD) held a completion ceremony for its 8.5-generation OLED factory in Guangzhou. It is reported that the total investment of LGD's 8.5-generation OLED panel project in Guangzhou is 46 billion yuan. It is the third production line established by LGD in Guangzhou, China after the module factory and LCD production line. The initial monthly production capacity of LGD's Guangzhou OLED factory is planned to be 60,000 glass substrates, and will be gradually increased to a maximum capacity of 90,000 per month.