OREANDA-NEWS. The government of Hefei, capital of Anhui province, released a development program for the integrated circuit industry on Wednesday, planning to build three to five wafer production lines during the next decade to raise the market share of domestic chips.
"In 2012, China's value of imports of integrated circuit-related products topped USD 190.2 billion, overtaking that of oil and steel imports," said Gu Wenjun, chief analyst of iSuppli, a global leader in market intelligence on the electronics sector.

"High-end chips are totally imported," Gu added.

While the city is home to more than 20 integrated circuit plants, whose combined output stands at 1 billion yuan per year on average, none of them produce the wafer, the "parent" of chips, said Zhu Shengli, who works for the local development and reform commission.

In the following decade, the city will launch three to five wafer production lines with a monthly capacity of 100,000 to 200,000, and develop over 30 designing companies, Zhu said, citing the program.

"Hefei will establish strategic cooperative relationship with Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan and America's Silicon Valley," according to the official.