China hits Big Fund chip executives with corruption probes

China’s top anti-corruption watchdog has launched investigations against several executives linked to the country’s largest chip investment fund, as Beijing steps up scrutiny of the sector in its race for technological self-sufficiency.

Chinese authorities revealed this week they are investigating three former executives connected to the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, called the “Big Fund”, which raised $51bn in its last two funding rounds.

China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said it was investigating Du Yang, former director at SINO IC Capital, which manages the Big Fund’s assets, for “suspected serious violations of disciplines and laws”. The CCDI said it was also investigating two former investment managers at SINO IC Capital, Yang Zhengfan and Liu Yang.

At least five chip fund executives have been put under investigation for fraud in the past two months. The probes follow the collapse of state-backed conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup, a semiconductor manufacturer which began a court-ordered restructuring last year.

Beijing is under pressure to fast-track its semiconductor industry as increasing US restrictions threaten its chip supply chain. The FT reported this week that Taiwan security officials want Foxconn to drop its stake in Tsinghua Unigroup as the country seeks to align itself more closely with the US.

“Beijing is growing more anxious to see companies perform,” said Linghao Bao, an analyst at Trivium China. “There’s no tolerance for corruption here.”

He added: “You can bet Beijing is not happy with the fact that one of its most important state-owned semiconductor companies just went bankrupt.”

On July 30, the CCDI said it was probing Ding Wenwu, the general manager of the Big Fund, for similar allegations. Two weeks earlier, Lu Jun, the former head of SINO IC Capital, was detained by the anti-corruption body.

Chinese news outlet Caixin reported last month that Wang Wenzhong, a former classmate of Lu who ran a smaller fund in partnership with the Big Fund, and Zhao Weiguo, who led the cash-strapped chipmaking giant Tsinghua Unigroup for a decade, had both been placed under investigation. Diao Shijing, former co-president of Tsinghua Unigroup, is also under investigation, Caixin reported last week.

The Financial Times has not independently verified the cases. Wang, Zhao, and Diao could not immediately be reached for comment. The Big Fund did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Big Fund, which was set up in 2014 to push for China’s self-reliance in chips, raised Rmb138.7bn for its first phase of fund and Rmb204bn for its second phase. The fund is backed by deep-pocketed state investors including the Ministry of Finance, China Tobacco, China Mobile and China Development Bank.

Over the years, the Big Fund has expanded its investment portfolio from chip manufacturing to raw materials and provided financing to homegrown champions such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, two of the country’s largest chip manufacturers.

But China’s technological self-sufficiency ambitions have been hit by Washington’s expanding sanctions and export restrictions, which have forced SMIC to abandon plans to manufacture some types of advanced chips and stalled its global growth.