New Semiconductor Foundry to Open in Shenzhen; High Tech

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 000007 SENSITIVE SIPDIS State for EAP/CM; EEB/CIP; EEB/TPP; INR/EAP; S/P USTR for China Office NSC for JLoi, JShrier TREASURY FOR OASIA/INA -- DOHNER/HAARSAGER/WINSHIP TREASURY FOR IMFP -- SOBEL/CUSHMAN USDOC FOR ITA DAS KASOFF, MELCHER, MAC/OCEA STATE PASS CEA FOR BLOCK STATE PASS CFTC FOR OIA/GORLICK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETTC EINV TNGD PGOV CH TW SUBJECT: New Semiconductor Foundry to Open in Shenzhen; High Tech Growth Not Slowing REF: 09 SHANGHAI 221 GUANGZHOU 00000007 001.2 OF 003 (U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for release outside U.S. government channels. Not for internet publication. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: High-tech industry in Shenzhen might have reached critical mass, now attracting new industries and growth with encouragement from the municipal government. In addition to favorable policies and support, government and industry contacts cite free market forces in Shenzhen as a major incentive for high-tech companies interested in investing here. Shanghai-based semiconductor manufacturer SMIC is breaking into Shenzhen with a multi-phase foundry project that will open in 2010. However, SME firms complain that rising costs and capricious local authorities could hinder long-term growth. End summary. Semiconductor Industry Moving into Shenzhen -------------- ¶2. (SBU) SMIC, the Shanghai-based semiconductor manufacturer, is a few months away from opening the first phase of a new foundry in Shenzhen, the city's first major semiconductor manufacturing facility. In meetings with econoff at the construction site, Project Manager Dong Yixin said the US$1.6 billion project had been in the works for more than three years. The plant will initially open with 600 employees, said Dong, but he does not expect wafer production to begin until the third quarter of 2010, at the earliest. Although most of the manufacturing equipment for phase 1 has arrived in Shenzhen, with only a few key machines yet to be procured, the new SMIC facility's testing and calibration period will likely take six months or more. ¶3. (SBU) Once it becomes operational, phase 1 will produce 8-inch wafers, according to Dong, followed by a future second phase that will produce 12-inch wafers. Most of the new plant's key management and technical positions will be filled by long-time SMIC employees who will be relocated from the company's Shanghai headquarters and other well-established facilities in China. Equipment procurement is handled at headquarters, but Dong said the eventual second phase project would rely on equipment utilizing IBM-licensed 45-nm technology. However, Dong was unable to predict when the second phase might commence, noting that he was focused only on completing the initial facilities. Government Takes a Leading Role -------------- ¶4. (SBU) When asked about the reasons SMIC chose Shenzhen to make such a large new investment, Dong said the company's senior managers and city leaders had previously worked out the details including project size, funding and location. Dong explained that his experience as Facilities Project Manager had been very positive when requesting specific support from the city whether requirements focused on upgrading local infrastructure, increasing the availability of resources like water or electricity, or improving transportation and logistics facilities for personnel and inputs. Dong suggested that city officials' willingness to support the project may have been unusually solicitous because of the investment's large size and its status as the first such plant to set up in Shenzhen. ¶5. (SBU) SMIC Vice President for Corporate Relations Matthew Szymanski confirmed to econoff that the new Shenzhen plant is a GUANGZHOU 00000007 002.2 OF 003 wholly owned subsidiary of the company and not owned by the local government, as is the case for SMIC's facilities in Wuhan and Chengdu. Szymanski said the local government had provided some financial support to the project, which he said was detailed in SEC filings in both the United States and Hong Kong, where the company is publicly listed. At the same time, Szymanski said that his company could benefit from even greater local support, and he offered that support provided to IBM from the State of New York and the U.S. Government was greater than Shenzhen's support to SMIC. ¶6. (SBU) Officers of the Shenzhen Semiconductor Association separately told econoff that the SMIC project marks a major breakthrough for the Shenzhen municipal government in its efforts to expand high-tech industry in the city. The SMIC plant will be the first major foundry to locate here and the project is only the second major semiconductor producer to select the city for a high-value investment in the last few years, according to Secretary General Richard Cai. The Shenzhen Semiconductor Association currently represents 80 member firms, most of which are "fabless" design firms who hire semiconductor foundries to manufacture their chips. The association also includes several large consumer electronics firms that produce semiconductors as one of their major business lines, but Cai said the $1.6 billion SMIC foundry along with an expansion of operations by Swiss-owned STS Microelectronics in early 2009 to build a $500 million packaging facility will broaden and deepen the city's role in this industry. Marketing Shenzhen as a High-Tech Hub -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Shenzhen is eager to position itself as a destination for high-tech investment in general. The China High-Tech Fair, annually held in Shenzhen and jointly organized by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Shenzhen municipal government, is one of the tools the city has used to encourage high-tech industry development in recent years. The 2009 fair lasted one week in November and exhibitors hailed from provinces and cities across China and around the world, major Chinese and international high-tech firms, as well as research universities and other organizations looking to expand their presence in China's lucrative high-tech sector. In addition to hosting diplomats and media at the opening ceremony, informational seminars and matchmaking sessions during the fair further emphasized Shenzhen's position as a growing high-tech center despite the economic downturn. Balancing Government Support and Market Forces? -------------- -- ¶8. (SBU) Both government and industry contacts from the top down claimed that Shenzhen had succeeded in attracting new high-tech investment not only through sustained government action, but also because free market principles played a larger role here than in other competitive Chinese locations. Vice Mayor Zhuo Qinrui told the Consul General in a recent introductory meeting that the city had successfully encouraged the development of four "pillar" industries over the past 29 years - high-tech component manufacturing, "culture industries" like Internet content providers and publishing, finance and logistics. In Shenzhen, the encouragement focused mostly on providing incentives and support for otherwise private business decisions, rather than establishing and directing major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the city, according to Zhuo. He said municipal leaders recognized the importance of "market forces" when encouraging high-tech industry because it tended to be more innovative and profitable for both the GUANGZHOU 00000007 003.2 OF 003 businesses and the community. He added that the city government would continue its quest for new high-tech investment in the future, and Shenzhen plans to expand its development focus to three "new" pillar industries - information technology, biotech/pharmaceuticals and new energy. ¶9. (SBU) Shenzhen Semiconductor Association Director General Cai also said a key factor that makes Shenzhen more attractive than other cities in China is the lack of SOEs and, therefore, direct government involvement in the semiconductor industry. He said the city had worked hard to create an environment for semiconductor industry growth, but the lack of major SOE players in the market was evidence of the government's willingness to take a more hands-off approach to the city's high tech development. Challenges Remain for High-Tech Firms in Shenzhen -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Despite the upbeat outlook from local officials and industry associations, high-tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) still face major challenges in Shenzhen, according to CEO Jeff Yang of telecom component maker Continuous Computing. In an initial meeting with the Consul General, and in a follow-up meeting with econoff, Yang said the rapid growth of Shenzhen's industrial base had led to increased costs that would make a small company owner think twice about opening new offices in Shenzhen at this time. Continuous Computing opened its Shenzhen branch in 2005 and enjoyed low costs and low government interference at first. However, rents, wages, labor turnover and other costs all increased rapidly in the company's four years here, and local government interference also began to affect the company after the economic downturn struck in ¶2008. ¶11. (SBU) According to Yang, SME firms like his were powerless to defend themselves against local tax officials who targeted foreign-invested enterprises to try and make up for local revenue shortfalls during the economic downturn. The tax bureau has since cleared the company of any wrongdoing, but Ya&NQ1Q"7sin Chengdu might be less inclined to "take foreign investors for granted." JACOBSEN