A 20-billion-yuan ($2.9-billion) chip design and 10-billion-yuan ($1.4-billion) compound semiconductor industrial cluster is planned for the Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Tangjiawan) where output value of the integrated circuit (IC) industry could exceed 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) by 2025.

The IC industry, and especially its design component, has been prioritized since the establishment of the Hi-Tech Zone in 1992. To further support it with the new cluster, the Development Plan for IC Industry (2020-25) was recently released by the Hi-Tech Zone Administrative Committee.

Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone [Photo courtesy Guanhai App]

The zone is home to industry leaders Allwinner Technology, Actions (Zhuhai)  Technology, and InnoScience. Allwinner Technology, for instance, was recognized for the second time in June 2020 as a Top 10 China IC (integrated circuit) Design Enterprise by virtue of continuous technical innovation and high-quality products and services.

After more than 20 years in development, an application-oriented IC industrial pattern led by design has taken form with inclusion of materials and ongoing improvement in manufacturing and package testing. The local IC design industry output ranks second in the Pearl River Delta and eighth in the country as the zone provides opportunities for compound semiconductor breakthroughs and an improved package test industrial chain, while focusing on IC design.

Guangdong's IC industry development plan envisions a regional center of IC design in Zhuhai and Shenzhen and another of IC manufacturing and packaging in Guangzhou to form a complete industry chain in the Pearl River Delta. Located at the geographical center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Zhuhai zone has distinct advantages arising from IC resource spillover from Guangzhou and Shenzhen.