Automotive Semiconductor Spending in China

Automotive Semiconductor Spending in China 
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​There has been a great deal of speculation as to the effect US trade sanctions have had with China, with some pointing to difficulties faced by Huawei (pvt) and ZTE (000063.CH) and a general slowdown in Chinese semiconductor projects that were looking to bring Chinese fabs closer to 5nm nodes used by Taiwan Semi (TSM) and Samsung.  China has been trying to develop its semiconductor expertise for a number of years, and while it has not yet brought its foundries down below 28nm for commercial production, the trend toward development of its own semiconductor independence began before the trade sanctions became as serious as they are currently.
That said, one thing that the trade sanctions did seem to do was to light a bigger fire under provincial and local governments to initiate semiconductor projects, and while most are not oriented toward competing against TSM and Samsung at 7nm and 5nm nodes, there are a number of projects that are oriented toward more practical chip production with a bias toward power semiconductors, necessary items for the electric vehicle industry.  Not all of the projects below are specific to power semiconductors, but all initiated construction last year, and while timelines for such projects can change radically, as were have illustrated in the past, just in sheer numbers and spending, the success of even a few of such projects will give China a bit more standing in the semiconductor space.
The projects below are not fully constructed or in mass production, and some might never achieve that status but if nothing else, we give the provincial and local Chinese governments a nod toward making a concerted effort to establish at least a modicum of their own needs.  If you don’t have the means to procure equipment that takes you down to the 7nm/5nm node then fill in the blanks in areas where there are already shortages and will likely continue to be so as the markets for electric vehicles continues to grow, particularly in China. 
Ganzhou Mingguan Microelectronics Power Chip Project
Initiated by the Jiangxi Provincial government
Phase 1 – 8” Power chip wafer production
$930m US (Phase 1)
Phase 2 – 12” Wafer line
$2.2b US (Phase 2)
 
Changsha BYD Semiconductor
               R&D for Automotive electronics
                              $155m US
               8” wafer line
                              250k/yr. target production
 
Western Semiconductor IC Project
               Initiated by Youxian District government & Singapore Topu Electronics (601689.CH)
               Power Chip, RF, and 5G related production
               8” wafer production line
                              $1.25b US
 
Ganzhou CRRC Shengyilum Industrial Park Project
               8” wafer production line
                              Phase 1 - $1.24b US
               Power Chip and packaging
                              500k/yr. target
               Total Project Cost - $4b US
 
Xian Tongxinyuan Power Device Project
               Initiated by Xian Hi-Tech Zone
               8” power device line + power management
                              $457m US
 
Anhui Bengbu MEMS Manufacturing Project
               Initiated by Bengbu government
               8” MEMS (Micro-electro-mechanical systems) line
                              Smart Sensors
                              $155m US cost
               Target   50k MEMS wafers/yr.
                              400m MEMS chips/yr.