ZTE Microelectronics, a subsidiary of ZTE, has sold 24 percent stake to National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund for RMB 2.4 billion or $376 million.
The funds will enable the Chinese technology company to enhance research and development, and strengthen its offerings in semiconductor technologies, expand marketing and distribution channels in China and international markets.
Main focus areas of ZTE Microelectronics are the development of semiconductor technologies for applications including telecoms, mobile devices, Big Data, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and wearables.
ZTE Microelectronics is currently developing products with 28 nanometer technologies, and has R&D capabilities for 16 nanometer and 14 nanometer technologies. It has over 2,000 R&D employees in offices in China and the United States.
ZTE Microelectronics chipsets are currently deployed in base stations to support wireless access, as well as optical networking units (ONUs). ZTE Microelectronics develops products used in smartphones and mobile devices shipped in markets including China, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, supporting LTE-Advanced standards and multimode operations.
ZTE Microelectronics posted revenue of RMB 3.06 billion and net profit of RMB 458.6 million (+258 percent).
National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, with shareholders including China’s Ministry of Finance, China Development Bank and China Mobile Communications Corporation, has investments in developers of semiconductor technologies.
editor@telecomlead.com