Chinese semiconductor firm Vimicro sent a group of executives to Sony's Tokyo
headquarters in 2001 to explore business opportunities. A one-hour talk that the
company had arranged with a Sony manager was curtailed to only five minutes,
however. The meeting was unexpectedly brief, but the outcome was all too common
in the chip design industry at the time.
Beijing-based Vimicro makes processors for multimedia applications on PCs and
mobile phones. It hoped Sony would use its chips to power the digital cameras on
the Japanese firm's notebook computers.
The Sony manager simply did not believe a Chinese firm was capable of making
semiconductors, which involves cutting-edge production techniques. He ushered
Vimicro's executives out of the room, despite claims from the Chinese
businessmen that they had already signed agreements with big global names such
as Samsung and Philips.
That's why Vimicro executives' business cards included information from its
subsidiary in California. They were forced to give potential customers the
impression that Vimicro was a Silicon Valley company. The executives also used
to spend 50 minutes explaining why chips could be designed in China. This
typically left only 5 to 10 minutes to present Vimicro's products.
The times have changed, indeed.
Vimicro's chips powered 60 per cent of the PC cameras shipped worldwide in
2004, and are also used in a range of multimedia mobile phone models. Its
customers and partners include global giants such as Microsoft, Samsung,
Fujitsu, Logitech, Siemens and Lenovo. Even Sony, the leading player in the
global multimedia entertainment sector, started using Vimicro's chips last year.
Now the Chinese manufacturer owns more than 500 patents, with some registered
in the United States.
The company's rapid rise to the global stage underlines how the Chinese
Government's efforts to reduce reliance on foreign technologies through
"independent innovation" are transforming a number of key industries.
Despite China's unparalleled economic development over the past several
years, the country has been stung by a lack of core technologies. This has put
it in a disadvantageous position in the global supply chain.
It is therefore not surprising that "independent innovation" has become a
national buzzword.
The National Guideline on Medium- and Long-term Programme for Science and
Technology Development (2006-2020) issued by the State Council in early February
is aimed at reducing the country's reliance on key foreign technologies from
more than 50 to 30 per cent by 2020.
Vimicro is one of a number of Chinese companies benefiting from this
strategy. The government is applying preferential policies and directing
investment to promising companies to foster domestically developed but
internationally competitive technologies.
"We've wanted to develop world leading technologies and target the global
market since our very first day of operation," says Tom Zhang, vice-president
and one of the founders of Vimicro.
Vimicro was founded in 1999, with the Ministry of Information Industry (MII)
investing about 10 million yuan (US$1.25 million) as a "seed fund."
"The government played a big role in the early development of Vimicro," says
Zhang.
The MII was managing 100 million yuan (US$12.5 million) at the time, a fund
allocated by the Ministry of Finance to support Chinese high-tech firms. The MII
registered a venture capital firm overseas to manage the fund, a dramatic
departure from how it had previously supported domestic high-tech firms.
"Government support is crucial to Vimicro. But the government does not
intervene in our daily operations," says Zhang.
Vimicro later managed to absorb several rounds of venture capital from a
number of foreign companies, which diluted MII's stake to 10.9 per cent.
Vimicro became the first Chinese semiconductor firm to trade shares on the
NASDAQ when it went public on November 15. It raised US$87 million and the MII
sold its 10 per cent stake.
"The government is changing the way it helps the high-tech sector," says
Zhang.
The Chinese Government launched "Project 909" in 1995 to develop the
semiconductor industry, which it saw as the lifeblood of the high-tech sector.
It contributed registered capital of 4 billion yuan (US$250 million). The State
Council and Shanghai municipal government later injected an additional US$100
million and launched foundry enterprise Huahong in 1996.
At that time, 85 per cent of chips used in China were imported. The country's
IC (integrated circuit) manufacturing technologies were three generations behind
foreign technologies.
The pioneer of the project and the Minister of Electronics Engineering at the
time, Hu Qili, was also appointed chairman of Huahong to further highlight the
importance of the programme. In early 1980s, Hu was also a member of the
Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee.
The 10-year development of "Project 909" unearthed a number of tough lessons,
Hu says in a book released in January. When introducing some production lines,
for example, the government focused too much on closing technical gaps with
advanced global technologies, but did not address customer demands effectively
enough. That underscored the importance of establishing space between the
government and company operations. Business-savvy executives needed to be
developed to lead market-driven companies.
"I think technological developments in the private sector also need to be
accompanied by innovative government policies," says Zhang.
Spending on research and development in 2004 stood at 196.63 billion yuan
(US$24.3 billion), accounting for 1.23 per cent of the country's GDP (gross
domestic product). The government planned to expand this figure to 360 billion
yuan (US$44.4 billion) by 2010, accounting for 2 per cent of the GDP.
The government might set up a fund valued at 500 million yuan (US$61.7
million) in the coming years to accelerate development of the chip design
industry. Yet some observers are calling for the government to help improve the
ability of design firms to raise capital through means other than direct
allocation of funds.
Between 2000 and 2004, investment in China's semiconductor industry amounted
to US$14 billion, four times the total in the past 20 years, statistics show.
Only a small portion of this was associated with chip design firms, however.
Chip design is the highest value-added business in the semiconductor
industry, accounting for 40 per cent of the value chain. Compared to
manufacturing, assembling and testing, chip design also requires smaller
investments and costs. By 2004, there were 421 chip design firms throughout the
country, with total annual revenue of 8.15 billion yuan (US$1 billion).
Vimcro's NASDAQ-listing was followed by an initial public offering (IPO) by
Actions Semiconductor Co, another Chinese chip design firm. Both IPOs fell below
expectations, highlighting that it will likely take time for investors to
understand the profitability of Chinese chip design eneterprises.
Zhang says Vimicro's prospects are bright, however.
"Applications related to multimedia entertainment are on a roll, and an
increasing number of devices will be powered by multimedia chips," he says.
"That is a big trend promising enormous business opportunities."
According to US-based research firm IDC, the global multimedia chip market
will be worth more than US$4 billion in 2006, up considerably from US$1 billion
in 2004.
Vimicro now employs nearly 500 people.
"We hope to hire up to 2,000 in the coming years," says
Zhang.
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