All About Interwebz: Global chip shortage could ease as China's biggest chipmaker builds huge new factory

In what could be a major step towards easing the pressure on the semiconductor supply chain, China's largest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), has announced an $8.87 billion worth investment in a new fabrication facility.

As per regulatory filings, the factory will be constructed in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Lin-Gang Special Area, and will offer "a production line with a production capacity of 100,000 12-inch wafers per month, focusing on the production of integrated circuit foundry and technology services on process nodes for 28 nanometer and above."

Reporting on the development, The Register believes the new factory will be the largest of its kind.

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While chips meant for computers, and popular smartphones are built on processes less than 10 nanometer, there are plenty of everyday electronics that rely on chips built with 28 nanometer or larger processes.

New economic zones

In addition to the new mammoth chip factory, The Register also reported plans for China to create a special economic zone tailor made to cater to the development and manufacturing of semiconductors.

According to reports, the new Guangdong-Macau in-depth cooperation zone will be located on Hengqin island in China’s Guangdong Province.

China is reportedly keen to promote this zone, which will be jointly administered by Macau, as an “interconnection of innovation chains between Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland.”

The Register says that the country intends to use this zone to promote silicon design and chip making, particularly those it has a keen interest in such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), financial tech, and health services.