ZTE Corp said yesterday that it received an investment of 2.4 billion yuan ($376 million) from a government-backed semiconductor fund that helps finance the development of homegrown communication chips.
The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund will buy 24 percent of the enlarged shareholding of ZTE Microelectronics, a chip subsidiary of Shenzhen-listed ZTE, the country's biggest listed telecommunications equipment maker.
The new investment will enhance ZTE Microelectronics' research and development capabilities, strengthen its offerings in advanced semiconductor technologies, and broaden its marketing and distribution channels in domestic and international markets.
ZTE Microelectronics develops semiconductor technologies for applications including telecoms, mobile devices, Big Data, cloud computing, Internet of Things and wearables. The subsidiary, with over 2,000 research staff, is currently developing chips for use in base stations, smartphones and other mobile devices that support LTE-Advanced, or 4G Plus, standards and multi-mode operations.
ZTE and rivals, including Huawei, are developing the Chinese mainland's own chips for smartphones. U.S.-based Qualcomm and Taiwan-based MTK are now the top chip designers in the global smartphone market, although the Chinese mainland is the world's biggest mobile phone market by users.
