Chinese companies are rushing into the country’s semiconductor sector, spurred by a multibillion-dollar government plan to boost the industry to counter growing technological pressure from the US…More than 13,000 Chinese enterprises registered as semiconductor companies in the first nine months of this year…The numbers are double the monthly average of last year, with registrations jumping more than 30 per cent in September alone. Many companies entering the industry have no experience in semiconductors, coming from sectors such as auto parts or seafood.
(FT, October 13)
Tarun Pathak's key takeaways:
- Some of this does look like “a blind rush into chips” and there is acknowledgement of issues around this.
- However, the scale of this initiative implies China Inc. is in this for the long term, and that makes strategic sense especially given recent history.