China doled out 12.1 bn yuan in subsidies to 190 semiconductor companies in 2022

The Chinese government doled out more than 12.1 billion yuan (US$1.75 billion) in subsidies to 190 domestically listed semiconductor companies in 2022, industry data shows, as Beijing seeks to counter escalating US sanctions targeting advanced chip-making.

The 10 largest recipients received 45 per cent of the payouts, amounting to 5.46 billion yuan, according to a report on Sunday from Chinese media outlet ijiwei, which compiled the data from Wind, a financial data provider. Corporate filings from the top 10 firms confirms the subsidy amounts.

The report only covered companies listed in mainland China, meaning either in Shanghai or Shenzhen. Many other unlisted firms have also received government support, including through loans and direct investment.

China’s largest foundry operator, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), was also its largest subsidy recipient for the year at 1.95 billion yuan.

The only other company to be given more than 1 billion yuan was Sanan Optoelectronics, an LED chip maker based in the southeastern city of Xiamen, which received 1.03 billion yuan.

Shaanxi-based chip packaging company Tianshui Huatian Technology came in third with subsidies of 467.1 million yuan.
Among the other top 10 recipients are Wingtech Technology, an Apple supplier that develops and manufactures chips and mobile terminals; Naura Technology, a Beijing-based chip equipment maker and supplier of US-sanctioned Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC); and Loongson Technology, a flagship CPU designer. Each received subsidies ranging from 100 million yuan to 400 million yuan.
However, subsidy amounts varied greatly depending on the company, with those ranked at the bottom receiving around 200,000 yuan for the year – less than US$30,000. South China Morning Post