​Pudong chipmakers' H1 financial reports show booming industry

A number of semiconductor companies in Pudong New Area, East China's Shanghai recently published their earnings reports for the first half of 2021, which affirm the accelerated growth of the integrated circuits industry in the area.

According to a report released on Aug 5 by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the company generated $1.34 billion in sales in the second quarter of the year, up 21.8 percent and 43.2 percent compared to the first quarter of this year and last year respectively. Based on the successful performance, SMIC raised its growth target for 2021 to around 30 percent.

Another industry-leading company Unisoc has achieved 240-percent year-on-year growth in sales during the first half of the year, with its sales relating to 5G phones increasing 1,458 percent year-on-year.

Unisoc is one of the few independent chipmakers in the world that can manufacture the whole series of chipsets from 2G to 5G. In a recent 5G modules centralized purchasing project launched by China Mobile, the largest telecom operator in China, six types of Unisoc's modules won the bid, the most among all candidates. Modules using the Unisoc V510 chipset accounted for 42.12 percent of the total supply.

Continuous commitments to research and development have played a significant part in the industry's achievements. Giantec Semiconductor Corporation has been committed to overcoming technical bottlenecks, investing 32.18 million yuan ($4.95 million) in R&D during the first half of 2021, up 43.87 percent year-on-year. The proportion of its R&D spending in revenue over the first six months of the year was 1.92 percentage points higher than that of the first half of last year.

The integrated circuits sector in Pudong includes all sections of the industry chain, such as the design, manufacturing, as well as testing of semiconductors, which makes the area among the leading regions in China in terms of that industry.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China's semiconductor design industry is expected to grow over 20 percent, according to market research institutes. Pudong will continue supporting its local companies to develop advanced technologies and catch up with international industry leaders.