China investigates Sino IC Capital executives

Yang Du, formerly a director at the firm, and Zhengfan Yang and Yang Liu, who held the positions of deputy general manager and general manager, respectively, are being probed, Beijing's Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website.

This follows the launch of investigations into Weiguo Zhao, ex-head of chipmaking giant Tsinghua Unigroup, and Jun Lu, the former head of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, among other high-ranking executives.

Zhao enjoyed a high profile as Unigroup made a string of debt-fueled acquisitions at home and overseas in support of national objectives to enhance chip manufacturing and design capability. However, the firm has since struggled with its debt load, defaulting on a domestic bond in 2020 and looking at refinancing options.

Last autumn, a USD 9.5bn restructuring was announced. The participating consortium features Jianguang Asset Management (JAC Capital), a state-owned investor, and Wise Road Capital, which is described as an international Asian growth capital investor.

Sino IC has also played a significant role in China's pursuit of semiconductor self-sustainability. Its first fund - known as the "big fund" - was established in 2014 with CNY 138.7bn (USD 20.5bn) in commitments. A second iteration launched in October 2019 with a target size of CNY 204.2bn.

More than two-thirds of the big fund's investments have supported China-based contract integrated circuit makers, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Regulation
• GPs
• China
• semiconductor
• Sino IC Capital