JCET's new units a boost local chip industry

JCET, the world’s No. 3 chip assembly and testing firm and No. 1 on the Chinese mainland, has opened chip design and automotive electronics business units in Shanghai, it announced on Wednesday.

The units, in Zhangjiang in the Pudong New Area, will connect JCET’s suppliers and clients more closely and help the Shanghai-listed firm explore new business opportunities, said Zheng Li, the company’s chief executive.

It’s expected to make the semiconductor industry chain in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta more complete and integrated, officials said at the opening ceremony.

“Shanghai has China’s most complete semiconductor industry chain covering design, manufacture and assembly. The industry chain and the city’s good business environment are attractive to chip firms globally,” said Fu Xinhua, vice chairman of Shanghai’s Commission of Economy and Informatization.

With firms such as SMIC, the Chinese mainland’s biggest chipmaker, Shanghai is strong in manufacturing but has a relative lack of assembly resources. JCET’s units will improve and optimize the city’s chip industry blueprint, according to the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Association. 

The business units will also meet industry challenges such as the chip shortage in the automotive industry. Besides traditional smartphone and electronics demand, vehicles with autonomous and electric features have unexpectedly boosted the demand for chips. 

More than 90 percent of innovations in the automotive industry depend on chips, Zheng said last month.