The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 426: Industry shock, all parties take action

Today's groundbreaking ceremony was hosted by a well-known host from Lingnan Provincial TV Station.

This was also handled with the help of Liu Tianwu, so Jiang Hui didn't need to worry about it.

In a loud and passionate voice, he introduced the leaders and guests present, as well as the significance of the project.

Afterwards, leaders from the Ministry of Electronics Industry, Lingnan Province and other levels delivered speeches.

Needless to say, all parties have certainly highly appreciated the important role of this Lingnan Semiconductor project in promoting Shenzhen's economic development and enhancing the competitiveness of the country's semiconductor industry, and have expressed their firm confidence in the successful implementation of this project.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Shaohua, the new general manager of Lingnan Semiconductor, took the stage to speak as a representative.

He fondly reviewed the development history of China's semiconductor industry, shared some of Lingnan Semiconductor's future plans, and promised to go all out to ensure high-quality construction and operation of new projects and contribute to the development of China's semiconductor industry.

"Jiang Hui, are you really not going to go on stage and say a few words?"

From the beginning to the end, Lingnan Semiconductor was represented by General Manager Zhang Shaohua and Chief Engineer Chen Qingxiang, who managed to keep these two talented people in line.

Naturally, Zhu Ling also came today to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of Lingnan Semiconductor.

It had been a long time since she saw Jiang Hui caring so much about any branch company.

"There is no need. Since you have chosen to trust Zhang Shaohua and the others, let's hand over the stage to them."

"This way they can carry out their work better later."

Honor is no longer a rare thing for Jiang Hui.

It was just a speech at a large groundbreaking ceremony, it was nothing.

He himself doesn't really like socializing and speaking.

"As a newcomer in the semiconductor industry, we are entering the industry in such a high-profile manner. I guess many competitors are waiting to see how we perform."

"If it succeeds, there will naturally be a lot of applause."

"If we fail, I'm sure there will be even more jokes."

Zhu Ling said this a little worriedly.

With the scale of BMW Technology’s investment growing to the point where the couple have already achieved financial freedom.

In Zhu Ling's opinion, there was no need for Jiang Hui to take such a big risk.

However, she did not say these words out loud, but chose to support silently.

"In my dictionary, there is no word called failure."

"These few years are the last window of development for China's semiconductor industry."

"If you miss this window of opportunity, it will be much more difficult to develop in the future."

Jiang Hui knew too well the historical development of China's semiconductor industry.

It was filled with all kinds of regrets.

By the 1990s, when the relevant departments wanted to redevelop, the situation was completely different.

Especially after some incidents of subsidy fraud occurred, it brought great harm to the development of this industry.

Now with Lingnan Semiconductor, the situation is different.

It is only next year, 1988, and China's first 4-inch wafer factory and 3-micron process chip factory will be able to start mass production.

During the promotion process next year, we can continue to introduce some advanced R&D equipment from the United States and Japan, so that the R&D center of Lingnan Semiconductor can be built simultaneously.

To some extent, the establishment of this R&D center is no less significant than the construction of a factory.

The engineering construction purchased second-hand production equipment, but the R&D center is different.

The various experimental equipment inside are all the most advanced, and you might not be able to buy them even if you had money in the 1990s.

But now, as long as you pay, they will sell it.

While Jiang Hui and his wife were chatting, the most important part of today's groundbreaking ceremony arrived.

That is the stage of laying the foundation and preparing the soil.

Under the guidance of the host, guests held golden shovels and dug the first shovel of soil for the construction of Lingnan Semiconductor's new factory.

As each shovel of soil fell, thunderous applause and cheers broke out at the scene.

That evening, the news appeared on Lingnan TV and Huaxia TV.

"Old Lu, BMW Technology has suddenly stopped making cars and started making semiconductors. Can you understand this move?"

Chen Qi has always been paying close attention to the movements of the BMW Group.

This time, BMW Technology established Lingnan Semiconductor in China and planned to introduce wafer production lines and chip processing production lines from the United States. He paid attention to it when he saw the news broadcast.

For people like them, the daily news broadcast on China TV is a must-watch.

Although ordinary people find the content very boring, Chen Qi can read a lot of useful information from it.

But this time, when he saw the news about Lingnan Semiconductor, he felt that he was a little confused.

That's why I asked Lu Jianqiang.

"Director, this matter is indeed a bit strange. I haven't heard any rumors before."

"Logically speaking, the demand for various chips from BMW Group should be very small."

"That is, only a few chips will be used on the TCU of the 4AT at Nanshan Transmission."

"And the technology of those chips is not particularly high-end, and you can still find many manufacturers to purchase them from internationally."

"It is really hard to understand why people are spending huge amounts of manpower and resources to enter the chip manufacturing industry."

Lu Jianqiang obviously couldn't understand what BMW Technology was doing.

According to general public opinion, there is absolutely no need for BMW Technology to get involved in the semiconductor industry.

If you work hard in the automotive industry, at most you will just be able to expand into various automotive parts.

Even the investment in Nanshan Equipment was considered unnecessary by many people.

But Jiang Hui not only did it, he also established an industrial equipment park in Shenzhen, and his moves are getting bigger and bigger.

"I have some understanding of Jiang Hui."

“Everything he does is very purposeful and forward-looking.”

"Will our cars use a large number of various chips in the future?"

Although Chen Qi did not understand Jiang Hui's approach, he was very confident in Jiang Hui's vision.

The current situation can only be understood as they haven't seen through it yet, not that the other party is really messing around.

"He came from the First Ministry of Machine Building and had a good relationship with the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, but I have never heard of him dealing with the Ministry of Electronics Industry before."

"So BMW Technology's investment this time cannot be to support the development of the Ministry of Electronics Industry."

"His father-in-law is now the second-in-command of the Machinery Industry Committee. It would make sense for him to invest in some industries here."

Lu Jianqiang analyzed all possible situations, but the more he analyzed, the more he felt that this matter was a bit weird.

"I read in the news that Lingnan Semiconductor will become the most technologically advanced semiconductor company in China in the future, and will continue to introduce more advanced production equipment and processes."

"In addition, they will continue to delve deeper into the semiconductor industry."

"Try to arrange for someone to find out the relevant information about this matter and see if you can find out the reason behind it."

"And then see if there is any impact on us."

Unable to figure out the situation, Chen Qi had no choice but to arrange for people to follow up and investigate the matter, and then take it one step at a time.

……

Compared with the confusion at Capital Automobile Works, Smith has more information.

"Smith, China is currently promoting several major initiatives in the semiconductor industry."

"You need to pay a little attention to it. It would be best to find out their specific plans and see if there is any impact on us."

"In the past few years, China has neglected this industry a little bit, but Japan's semiconductor industry has risen rapidly and has surpassed us."

"In recent years, China has introduced a series of tax incentives, R&D subsidies and other policies to support the development of the semiconductor industry."

"And various restrictions were imposed on the scale of Japanese semiconductor exports to the United States."

"Even so, it will take some time to completely suppress Japanese semiconductor companies and make our domestic companies the world's number one."

"This kind of mistake cannot happen in China."

As America's ambassador to China, Woodcock has a lot to pay attention to.

He cares about anything he thinks will have an impact on America.

The semiconductor industry is one of the core industries for the future development of high-tech, and the United States now has a very accurate understanding of it.

Coupled with the rapid development of the computer industry in recent years, people have paid more attention to the development of the semiconductor industry.

Although China has a good relationship with the United States now, if the development of China's semiconductor industry threatens the interests of the United States, Woodcock will definitely find a way to suppress it.

"Woodcock, from what I know so far, China's semiconductor industry will not be able to catch up with us even after another 20 years."

"Take wafer fabs for example. Most of our domestic wafer fabs are 5-inch fabs, and 6-inch fabs are also underway."

"But Huaxia still has a 3-inch wafer factory, and the only 1-inch wafer production line is second-hand equipment purchased by the newly established Lingnan Semiconductor from our domestic enterprises."

"In the 4s, Intel built its first -inch wafer fab. Now, years have passed, and China is only just beginning to think about building such a fab."

"They want to catch up with us, which is impossible."

"On the contrary, I think it is necessary to alert the country to the situation in Korea and Japan."

"The threat they pose to the domestic semiconductor industry is definitely many times greater than that of China."

Smith was still hoping to work with Jiang Hui or Austin in the future to find a way to make a profit from Lingnan Semiconductor's new semiconductor equipment import business. How could Woodcock block this path?
Of course, he also really felt that China’s semiconductor industry was too weak and would not pose any threat to the United States at all.

All the new semiconductor equipment invested in China in recent years are second-hand and obsolete equipment imported from international markets.

It seems that the production capacity is quite large, but in fact it is already outdated.

The products produced simply cannot keep up with the needs of the times, resulting in a significant decline in capacity utilization.

The key point is that according to the information he has learned, China's R&D investment in the semiconductor industry is very small and can basically be ignored.

Under such circumstances, it is impossible to make any significant technological progress.

Semiconductors are a field that requires heavy capital and talent, and China is short of both.

"You're right, maybe I'm worrying too much."

"After all, within just a few months, they have established a new microelectronics joint venture with sufficient research institutes and factories, and also established a new enterprise like Lingnan Semiconductor that seems to have a strong momentum."

"It seems like he is preparing to make a big splash in the semiconductor industry."

"However, compared with Korea and Japan, China's actions and scale are indeed much smaller."

Woodcock thought he might be overly sensitive.

After staying in China for a few years and witnessing the rapid changes in China, he is a little worried.

Especially during this period, the relationship between China and the polar bears seems to have changed, and many business collaborations are accelerating.

This made Woodcock feel a certain sense of crisis.

If China walks together with the polar bear, this is definitely not the situation that America wants to see.

……

"What's going on with Lingnan Semiconductor? They can actually purchase 4-inch wafer fabs and 3-micron chip manufacturing equipment from the United States."

"So Zhang Shaohua gave up the position arranged by our company and went to this company?"

If the manufacturers in China's automobile industry are paying attention to Lingnan Semiconductor because this company has a very close relationship with the BMW Group, then the domestic semiconductor companies are paying attention to Lingnan Semiconductor obviously because a new competitor has emerged.

Over the years, China has introduced twenty or thirty obsolete wafer and chip processing production lines from the United States.

Everyone's goal is to produce wafers or chips for export and foreign exchange earnings, but the market is so small, your technology is backward, and there is simply not that much demand outside.

This resulted in many production lines running out of parts to produce just after they were put into operation.

Such a situation is naturally contrary to the original idea.

It is normal for some people to feel pressure or even be criticized because of this matter.

But fortunately, we are all state-owned enterprises, and no one should laugh at anyone else.

But the situation was different after Lingnan Semiconductor emerged.

Regardless of whether it is a foreign-funded enterprise or a private enterprise, they introduced the most advanced production lines in the country as soon as they were established, which made all other chip manufacturers lose face.

What will the superiors think?

Why is it that Lingnan Semiconductor, a newcomer in the industry, knows how to import more advanced production equipment, while you industry experts only know how to import completely backward production lines?

The current vacancy rate of production capacity is so high. Is it because there were problems with the original decision?
Such doubts will definitely make many people feel very uncomfortable.

It was especially embarrassing for the newly-funded United Microelectronics Company that the general manager of Lingnan Semiconductor was Zhang Shaohua, whom they looked down upon.

When Lingnan Semiconductor achieves success in the future, what will the leaders think?
When Zhang Shaohua receives leaders who come for visits and inspections, will he say something he shouldn’t say?

Thinking of this, Wang Honggui became more worried.

As the new general manager of Microelectronics United Corporation, he also had a share of the credit for kicking Zhang Shaohua out of the core management team.

It's not that he really hates Zhang Shaohua, but there are only so many positions, so he must give priority to his own people.

"Mr. Wang, I made some inquiries and found out that Lingnan Semiconductor and BMW Automobile Group are both subsidiaries of BMW Technology in Hong Kong."

"The BMW Group has grown very rapidly in recent years and has earned a lot of money through exports."

"I think he has some connections in America."

"The fact that we were able to successfully purchase relatively advanced second-hand equipment from America this time is probably related to these factors."

As the chief engineer of the Microelectronics United Corporation, Zhao Dongfang naturally paid attention to the establishment of Lingnan Semiconductor at the first opportunity.

Thinking that the other party would soon have more advanced equipment than his own company, he felt very complicated.

He is a relatively pure person, and his whole mind is on technology research and development.

But the best position such a person can achieve is chief engineer. It would be very difficult for him to move up further.

At a certain level, you must have strong upward management capabilities.

Otherwise, you can only watch other people at the same level get promoted and get salary increases.

"They can just make money in the automotive industry, why would they want to get involved in the semiconductor industry?"

"Isn't this disgusting to us?"

Wang Honggui's words probably expressed the thoughts of many domestic semiconductor company managers.

These industry insiders are naturally very clear about the problems facing domestic semiconductor companies.

It’s not that everyone doesn’t want to change, but various factors have come together to make it what it is now.

The complexity of introducing technology and equipment into the chip industry, the cumbersome approval process, funding and investment limitations, market and demand uncertainties, and the lack of management and operating experience will ultimately lead to a continuous decline in the competitiveness of these companies.

If there were no "catfish" coming in, they wouldn't be under much pressure.

After all, everyone is like this, and there is nothing the superior can do even if he is not satisfied.

But now Lingnan Semiconductor has been established, and it has immediately built the most advanced wafer factory and chip factory in the country. How can everyone survive?
The key is that it has just announced that it will enter the semiconductor industry and will prepare for mass production in the second half of next year.

How can they compare at this speed?
According to the current process of approval, reporting and discussion at all levels for major projects, if the Microelectronics United Corporation also launches the same project at this time, it is estimated that the project will not be approved by the end of next year.

If we want to mass produce it, we don’t know how long we have to wait.

"The key point is that not only did Zhang Shaohua go there, but a group of technicians from Factory 742 and Institute 1424 also went there."

"Some people didn't even bother with their files and took the train directly to Shenzhen to join Lingnan Semiconductor."

"I heard that as long as you are a professional semiconductor technician, the minimum wage at Lingnan Semiconductor is 300 yuan."

"As for factory managers like Zhang Shaohua, their salary can reach several thousand yuan a month."

"This does not include bonuses, villas and cars allocated by Lingnan Semiconductor."

When Zhao Dongfang said this, he felt a little envious.

At his level, he doesn't need to worry too much about money.

But it’s a bit stressful to think that you can easily take out a few thousand yuan.

However, after Zhang Shaohua, whose original salary was lower than his, went to Lingnan Semiconductor, his monthly salary was higher than his annual salary.

This is a bit stimulating.

No wonder many people at Factory 742 chose to give up joining the United Microelectronics Corporation some time ago.

“Isn’t this a mess?”

"Lingnan Semiconductor is breaking the rules so much that the atmosphere of the domestic semiconductor industry will be ruined by them."

Wang Honggui's heart skipped a beat, and he knew that his work would probably become even more difficult from now on.

The purpose of the superior to establish the United Microelectronics Corporation is to promote the development of China's microelectronics industry, promote the integration of scientific research and production, form an industrial chain cluster, and promote the development of the local economy.

But if Lingnan Semiconductor is waving its money around to poach people, then many technical personnel in Laihe Microelectronics will definitely be poached.

Without enough technical personnel, it is easy to imagine how difficult it would be for United Microelectronics to promote industrial development.

The semiconductor industry is not like the textile, coal mining and other industries where anyone can quickly get started.

The talent threshold for this industry is relatively high.

Even workers in a production workshop need to know a lot.

"Director, should we report this to the department?"

“We can’t let Lingnan Semiconductor continue like this.”

One of the key reasons why Zhao Dongfang was able to become the chief engineer of United Microelectronics Corporation is that he is a brother-in-law of Wang Honggui.

So he often naturally thinks about things from the other person's perspective.

Otherwise, with his emotional intelligence, he wouldn't be able to sit in this position.

"Leaders from the ministry attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Lingnan Semiconductor. A large number of leaders from Lingnan Province also attended, as did leaders from other ministries and commissions."

"In this case, do you think it will be effective if we complain to the Ministry?"

Wang Honggui is well aware of the appeal of a large wafer fab and chip manufacturing plant to the local area.

The ministry would certainly be happy to see that the domestic wafer production technology and chip production technology could be taken to a higher level without spending any money.

Therefore, complaining will definitely be ineffective, and it would not be surprising if you even get scolded.

It would be a tragedy if you bring back some people you can't handle.

"So...are we just going to let this situation develop?"

Wang Honggui felt very uncomfortable after hearing what Zhao Dongfang said.

But he also knew that there was very little he could do.

All we can do is wait and see.

(End of this chapter)