The global semiconductor industry is shifting its focus from competing in advanced process technologies to building resilience in mature process supply chains. Semiconductor manufacturers in mainland China are seizing this window of industrial transformation, making concentrated and steady progress in capacity expansion, technological breakthroughs, and supply chain enhancement. Recently, Nexchip Semiconductor, Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics, and Hua Hong Group have each disclosed significant operational and strategic moves, focusing respectively on process breakthroughs, production line establishment, and ecosystem development. Each step underscores the domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry's firm stride toward high-quality development.
Nexchip Semiconductor has achieved a key technological breakthrough—its 28nm logic process platform has completed full-flow development, marking further improvement in its mature process technology portfolio. As a company specializing in 12-inch wafer foundry and supporting services, Nexchip has built a diversified process technology system ranging from 150nm to 28nm, covering wafer foundry capabilities for display driver ICs (DDIC), CIS, power management ICs (PMIC), logic chips, and microcontroller units (MCU), among other products. These are applied across various fields including smartphones, flat-panel displays, security, and automotive electronics.
In terms of capacity expansion, Nexchip has clarified its Phase IV capacity expansion plan: building a new 12-inch wafer foundry production line with a monthly capacity of 55,000 wafers, focusing on 40nm and 28nm process technologies to further address market capacity shortages. According to the company's official social media, the Phase IV project involves a total investment of 35.5 billion yuan and is located in Hefei Xinzhan, Anhui. Equipment installation is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, with full production capacity reached by the second quarter of 2028.
Regarding market concerns about its operational status, Nexchip stated that recent business operations are normal, with capacity utilization remaining high. This expansion will further meet market demand for high-performance, high-quality wafer foundry services and accelerate the domestic substitution process. Currently, Nexchip's total monthly capacity is approximately 160,000 wafers. After the Phase IV project becomes operational, its capacity advantage in mature process technologies will be further enhanced.
In March 2026, Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics announced major updates, clarifying investment details for its Xiamen 12-inch high-end analog integrated circuit chip manufacturing line and completing a comprehensive adjustment of external investors, finalizing a total external capital increase of 3.6 billion yuan. According to the company's announcement, under the original cooperation plan, Xiamen Semiconductor Investment Group intended to invest 1.5 billion yuan and Xiamen Xinyi Technology planned to invest 2.1 billion yuan, totaling 3.6 billion yuan, to increase capital in the project company Silan Jihua, jointly advancing the production line construction with Silan Microelectronics.
After the investor adjustment, Xiamen Haixia Liantou has taken over the entire 1.5 billion yuan capital commitment originally held by Xiamen Semiconductor. The 2.1 billion yuan commitment originally held by Xiamen Xinyi Technology has been equally split, with Xiamen Xinyi Xincheng and Xiamen Chantou Xinhua each taking over 1.05 billion yuan. The two new investors will assume the rights and obligations of the original agreement according to their investment proportions, while the original two investors have completely exited and no longer bear relevant capital commitments or responsibilities.
Notably, to accelerate the project's launch, Silan Microelectronics had already advanced 240 million yuan to the project company Silan Jihua in December 2025. The project company currently has a registered capital of 250 million yuan, with 100% equity held by the Silan Microelectronics system. After the full capital increase is completed, Silan Microelectronics and its wholly-owned subsidiary Xiamen Silan Microelectronics will collectively hold 29.55%, Xiamen Haixia Liantou will hold 34.09%, and Xiamen Xinyi Xincheng and Xiamen Chantou Xinhua will each hold 18.18%. Core governance rights of the project will remain firmly with Silan Microelectronics.
Silan Microelectronics clarified in the announcement that this 12-inch production line will focus on high-end analog integrated circuit chip manufacturing. Currently, most domestic 12-inch wafer production lines concentrate on logic and memory fields, leaving a significant gap in 12-inch capacity for high-end analog chips. As one of the few domestic chip companies with full-process IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturing) capabilities, the establishment of this production line will further leverage its synergistic advantages in design and manufacturing, effectively breaking through the capacity bottleneck for high-end analog chips.
Recent corporate records show that Shanghai Huayao Xin Semiconductor Co., Ltd. has been formally established. This new company, funded with 1 billion yuan by Hua Hong Group, represents an important strategic move by the group to deepen its presence in core semiconductor sectors and enhance the industrial ecosystem. In terms of business scope, Huayao Xin Semiconductor covers integrated circuit manufacturing, integrated circuit chip and product manufacturing, integrated circuit sales, integrated circuit design, integrated circuit chip design and services, among other areas, forming a complete business loop from design to manufacturing to sales, capable of fully addressing business needs across the semiconductor industry chain.
Regarding equity structure, records indicate that Huayao Xin Semiconductor is jointly held by Shanghai Hua Hong (Group) Co., Ltd. and its affiliate Shanghai Hualibo Enterprise Management Partnership. Hua Hong Group, as the core shareholder, maintains full control over the new company, ensuring unified strategic deployment and execution.
As a leading enterprise in China's integrated circuit sector, Hua Hong Group has deep experience in semiconductors, having established a comprehensive industrial layout covering integrated circuit manufacturing, design, and sales. It possesses resources including three 8-inch and four 12-inch chip production lines, with a cumulative patent portfolio exceeding 20,400 patents. In 2025, the group's revenue reached 2.4021 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 19.9%.
Industry analysts suggest that the establishment of Huayao Xin Semiconductor will further integrate Hua Hong Group's technological, talent, and channel advantages, expand its layout in integrated circuit manufacturing and design, help break through core semiconductor technology bottlenecks, and promote the self-reliant and controllable development of the domestic integrated circuit industry.
Reviewing the latest moves by these three major companies, it is evident that China's semiconductor industry is entering a new, more pragmatic development phase focused on efficiency. By addressing weaknesses in key processes, strengthening areas of deficiency, and making significant investments in specialized工艺, the local manufacturing system is gradually building comprehensive support capabilities covering logic, analog, and power chips.
The completion of Nexchip Semiconductor's 28nm logic platform R&D indicates that second-tier domestic foundries are beginning to overcome key technological bottlenecks in mature processes. Achieving this milestone not only enhances their bargaining power in high-growth markets like AI chips, high-performance drivers, and the Internet of Things but also accumulates valuable technical expertise for the梯队建设 of domestic advanced processes.
Silan Microelectronics' capital commitment to the 12-inch high-end analog production line reflects the development strategy of local power semiconductor companies. By upgrading production line size (from 8-inch to 12-inch), they aim to optimize unit costs and production efficiency. In high-reliability fields such as automotive electronics and industrial control, this asset investment based on the IDM model is key to establishing long-term competitive barriers.
Hua Hong Group, through initiatives like establishing Huayao Xin Semiconductor, is breaking the limitations of a pure-play foundry model. This attempt to achieve deep coupling between manufacturing and design ends through capital and business ties can not only shorten product development cycles but also maintain stable capacity utilization during supply chain fluctuations through internal coordination, offering new ideas for industry development.
Overall, the series of strategic moves by Nexchip Semiconductor, Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics, and Hua Hong Group are concrete manifestations of domestic semiconductor manufacturers deepening their focus on mature processes and improving the industrial ecosystem. As related projects are implemented and technologies deepen, the resilience and self-reliance level of the local semiconductor industry chain are expected to continuously improve.
Comments