Debate And Solution Of The Process Strategy Of SMIC Brewing Chip Behind Jiang Liang'S Going And Staying

On the evening of December 16, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued a regulatory working letter on matters related to SMIC international integrated circuit manufacturing Co., Ltd., involving listed companies, directors, intermediaries and related personnel.

On December 15, a series of announcements made by the interim Board of directors of SMIC in the evening directly triggered a wave of personnel changes. Semiconductor industry leader Jiang Shangyi confirmed to join the board of directors, but with the resignation of Liang Mengsong, the current joint CEO (letter to the board of directors), SMIC International announced on December 16 that it was actively verifying with Liang Mengsong his true intention to resign.

Behind the incident, it's not just a matter of personnel. On the one hand, it reflects the friction between the company's internal management communication. SMIC has been recruiting global talents, and how to reconcile culture and gather top technical figures has been a long-standing topic. On the other hand, for SMIC, which is in a difficult situation at home and abroad, it is urgent to find a way to break through and change. The current management turbulence or SMIC's new round of reform is also urgent The beginning of change.

Gu Wenjun, chief analyst of xinmou research, said in an interview with the 21st century economic report that the external world can not simply define "internal strife" or "struggle", which is related to the current international situation, China's industrial demand, how to better serve China's industry, the future development of the company, and the cultivation of young talents.

Gu Wenjun thinks: "the changes of international and domestic situation make SMIC have to make changes. The international reason is that under the background of Sino US science and technology game, the semiconductor industry is seriously interfered by politics. SMIC is also blacklisted by the United States, and its purchase of relevant equipment and materials has been seriously affected. In this context, it is neither realistic nor scientific for SMIC to insist on the single point breakthrough of advanced technology. "

He also said that technological breakthroughs must be aimed at mass production, and product research and development should be based on market demands and customer demands. Contrary to SMIC's all in to advanced technology, China's design industry has been booming in recent years, especially the demand for mature technology has soared, and SMIC has to adapt to changes.

High level personnel rise again

On the evening of December 15, SMIC announced that Jiang Shangyi was appointed as vice chairman of the board of directors, second category executive director and member of the strategy committee of SMIC international. His term of office is from December 15, 2020 to the annual general meeting of shareholders in 2021. In the announcement, for Jiang Shangyi's appointment, SMIC co CEO Liang Mengsong had no reason to abstain. At the same time, media reports said that Liang Mengsong resigned at the board of directors and released a "resignation letter", saying that the personnel change was only informed by Chairman Zhou Zixue on December 9. He had no knowledge of this before, which aroused a thousand waves.

For Jiang Shangyi to join the management of SMIC, the industry is mostly optimistic. As a top expert in semiconductor industry, Jiang Shangyi will undoubtedly add technical strength to SMIC. A senior person in the semiconductor industry also told the 21st century economic reporter: "although process R & D is very important, it is also a knowledge to manage a wafer factory well. SMIC has been stuck in the advanced manufacturing process for some time. The return of Jiang Shangyi will help it

According to public information, Jiang Shangyi, 74 years old, has participated in the research and development of CMOS, NMOS, bipolar, DMOS, SOS, SOI, GaAs laser, led, electron beam lithography, silicon-based solar cells and other projects in the semiconductor industry for 45 years. In TSMC, we have led the R & D of FinFET of 0.25 μ m, 0.18 μ m, 0.15 μ m, 0.13 μ m, 90nm, 65nm, 40nm, 28nm, 20nm and 16nm FinFET, making TSMC's industry position develop from a technology follower to a technology leader.

After that, he served as independent non-executive director of SMIC and CEO of Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. In June 2020, Jiang Shangyi resigned from the position of Wuhan Hongxin. Now he has officially entered the board of directors of SMIC international, which will directly involve management.

Chen Qi, the investment manager of pinley fund, told the 21st century economic report that Jiang Shangyi, with his heart set on advanced packaging and chiplet (heterogeneous integration, modular chip), has the opportunity to fulfill his dream on the platform of SMIC international, and he is also invited to join. There is no irreconcilable contradiction between Jiang Shangyi and Liang Mengsong. Liang Mengsong wants to leave because of his personality. As he said, "he is not respected and trusted". When the new leader comes, he will worry about whether the original plan will change.

At the same time, Chen Qi also pointed out that corporate culture and internal interests of the management are the main internal reasons for the frequent entry and exit and turbulence of SMIC personnel all year round. Many people in the semiconductor industry also told reporters that after Jiang Shangyi joined, it may involve the re division of management and power, which is also one of the reasons for Liang Mengsong's "resignation".

Liang Mengsong is also a technology magnate in the industry. During his stay at TSMC, he was a subordinate of Jiang Shangyi and worked together. Later, Jiang Shangyi retired, and Liang Mengsong left TSMC and joined Samsung, which directly promoted Samsung's progress in the 14nm process. However, he also received a lawsuit from TSMC, making it unable to return to Samsung in a short time. Until 2017, Liang Mengsong joined SMIC. In more than three years, Liang Mengsong led the team to complete the technology development of five generations from 28nm to 7Nm.

At present, SMIC did not confirm the resignation news. The announcement said: "the company has known Dr. Liang's willingness to resign conditionally, and is actively verifying with Dr. Liang's true intention to resign."

Facing difficulties at home and abroad, SMIC seeks change

This year, SMIC international science and technology innovation board was listed, opening up new resource channels and entering a new stage. In the third quarter, SMIC's international revenue continued to record a record high, with sales of US $1083 million, up 32.6% year-on-year. According to the forecast of Jibang consulting, in the fourth quarter of 2020, TSMC, Samsung, liandian, Gexin and SMIC international will occupy the top five in the market.

In terms of technology, according to Liang Mengsong's resignation, "at present, 28nm, 14nm, 12NM, and N + 1 technologies have entered mass production, and the development of 7Nm technology has also been completed. Risk mass production can be started immediately in April next year. The eight most critical and arduous technologies of 5nm and 3nm have also been launched in an orderly manner, and the comprehensive development stage can be entered only after the arrival of EUV lithography machine. "

In the outside world, Jiang Shangyi and other technology giants have entered SMIC, which will promote SMIC's further development. However, it is facing a turbulent situation of management.

At present, in addition to the internal problems of the company, SMIC is under more pressure from the international environment. The latest development is that the court in California of the United States has submitted a civil complaint on some securities of SMIC, and SMIC needs to explore new solutions.

Gu Wenjun told the 21st century economic reporter: "the international reason is that under the background of Sino US science and technology game, the semiconductor industry has been seriously interfered by politics. SMIC international has been listed in the" blacklist "of the United States, and its purchase of relevant equipment and materials has been seriously affected. What the outside world knows is that we can't buy a 7Nm EUV lithography machine. In fact, not only the lithography machine, but also other equipment for advanced technology are also limited. It is neither realistic nor scientific if SMIC sticks to the single point breakthrough of advanced technology

"The more important reason for SMIC to realize that it must be changed is that after September 15, Hisilicon, the core customer of SMIC's advanced technology and an important partner, was sanctioned by the United States. SMIC could neither produce for Hisilicon nor cooperate with Hisilicon. Hisilicon to SMIC is far more than the relationship between general customers and suppliers. In the context of the crackdown in the United States, SMIC can not buy relevant advanced equipment and materials, nor can it cooperate with the strong aid of Hisilicon. It can be said that both the top and the bottom are trapped. In this case, we must face the reality. "

According to the Tuolong Industrial Research Institute of trendforce group consulting, SMIC will no longer supply Hisilicon since September 14. When other customers carry out trial production at 14nm, SMIC will have a two to three quarter capacity gap period. After the United States lists it in the export control list, in addition to equipment restrictions, some foreign customers are also afraid to draw orders. It is estimated that the fourth quarter revenue will be affected, with a quarter to quarter decrease of about 11% However, due to the low base period in 2019, the annual revenue growth in this quarter is still 15%.

SMIC also continues to expand production capacity. According to the financial report, Q3 SMIC's 14 / 28nm revenue accounted for 14.6%, 40 / 45nm accounted for 17.2%, 55 / 65nm accounted for 25.8%, and 90nm accounted for 3.4%. Since this year, 8-inch wafers are in short supply, while the process supported by 8-inch wafers is 90nm, which has been moved up to 65nm at this stage.

Next, it remains to be seen whether SMIC, which has been striving for advanced technology, will adjust its production line strategy and start advanced packaging and chiplet business after Jiang Shangyi joins in.

The curtain of change may have opened.