Huawei Technologies is expanding its holdings in Chinese semiconductor companies and other technology companies. This is part of the strategy of the world’s largest electronics company in view of the pressure from the USA to realign its supply chains and to rely on its own chip production.
The investments run primarily through the investment company Habo Technology Investment. They cover practically all parts of the semiconductor industry chain, the writes Telecom-Portal Light Reading citing the Chinese Financial magazine Caijing. The aim is to build a controllable supply chain. The participations therefore mainly follow technical and less financial aspects. So far, Habo Technology has invested directly in 38 companies, 35 of which are in the chip sector.
Broadly diversified investments
The focus of investment has shifted several times, said Caijing. At the end of 2019 and in the first half of 2020, material and opto-electronic chip companies were the target; in the second half of 2020 and early 2021 mainly EDA software companies. The latest investment at the end of June was MaxOne. This is the first Chinese company capable of developing vertical probe cards, which are essential for assembling microelectronic components in tight spaces.
Huawei founded the investment company Habo Technology in April 2019 in response to “repression” by the United States, as Guo Ping, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, called it. The US government under Donald Trump has practically cut off Huawei’s chip supply from abroad through export restrictions. As a result, Google suspended licensing of Android for Huawei cellular devices, among other things, and as a result, Huawei recorded a significant decline in sales.
Own fab is intended to cushion sanctions
The current US administration under President Joe Biden gives Huawei little hope that the sanctions will be lifted. Rather, Biden recently extended a Trump ban on US investment in China. Listed by his predecessor Trump, additional Chinese companies whose securities are not allowed to be traded by Americans, added. These include several Chinese providers of surveillance and espionage technology, as well as partner and subsidiary companies of previously listed companies. This also includes two Huawei finance companies.
In view of the US’s confrontational stance, Huawei is not only relying on building its own supply chains, but also on building semiconductor factories. A strategy promoted by the Chinese government. Beijing is pumping billions into local chip manufacturing, which has to be rebuilt almost from scratch. A veritable international arms race has set in with semiconductors around the world.
With an investment of 1.8 billion yuan (235 million euros), Huawei plans to start production in its first chip factory in Wuhan next year. First of all, chips and modules for optical communication are to be manufactured there.
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