The total output value of the integrated circuits industry cluster in Gaoqi Park – in the Xiamen Area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, or XMFTZ – surged by 44.8 percent year-on-year to 695 million yuan ($100.78 million) in the first quarter.
The XMFTZ is located in the port city of Xiamen, in East China's Fujian province.
By the end of March, the IC business incubation service platform was home to 217 businesses, including two State-level and three municipal industrial leaders – with cutting edge technologies in optical communications, power device chips, IoT microprogrammed control units and military-civilian integration.
One of them – manufacturer Eochip Semiconductor Co Ltd – produces high-speed optical communications chips, breaking the bottleneck of relying solely on imports.
Xiamen Xfabsemi Co Ltd, another key enterprise in the park, brought in a listed company to be strategic investor early this month, increasing its capital by nearly 100 million yuan.
The robust growth of the IC industry is being attributed to the XMFTZ's efforts in promoting the sector's high-quality development, with initiatives including talent recruitment and training and more effective policy support.
Early in 2019, the XMFTZ got the green light to adopt an innovative customs supervision model for bonded IC research and development, which is said to be helping IC design enterprises citywide to lower their taxes and to improve their customs clearances.
By the end of the March, 14 companies had benefited from the model, with the bonded import amount topping $34.75 million and cumulative foreign exchange payments rising to $72.16 million. What's more, the clearance times had been cut in half.