"The focus of the semiconductor industry's development for us this year is to foster market demand for business," said Liang Sheng, chief of the technological innovation and development division of the Beijing Municipal Economic and Trade Commission and vice-chairman of the Beijing Semiconductor Industry Association.

He said that, although the municipality had attracted leading semiconductor foundries such as the Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and had many integrated-circuit design firms, the scale of the industry was still very small. Therefore, the government would concentrate its capital and energy on six major products to foster demand, he added.

The six product areas are integrated-circuit cards, shared point-of-sale systems between banks and taxation bureaux, digital cameras, high-definition television, network computers and mobile communication devices.

Liang said Beijing has taken the lead in China in terms of chip design and the manufacture of these products.

The Chinese capital will also work to attract international investors and hold an international microelectronics seminar in October.

The annual seminar is usually held in May but was postponed this year due to the SARS outbreak. The municipality has been contacting industrial organizations from the United States, Europe and Japan to encourage them to take part.

"Although it is hard to say if we can sign some semiconductor manufacturing deals at the meeting, we think there will be lots of opportunities for co-operation in integrated-circuit design and semiconductor equipment," Liang said.

He said he hoped that the forum would bring overseas technology, professionals and venture capital to Beijing to promote the development of the semiconductor industry in the Chinese capital.

He said the establishment of the SMIC Beijing Co Ltd, the backbone of the Beijing's semiconductor manufacturing business, has been going smoothly despite SARS.

Support facilities for the US$1.25 billion project are close to completion, and the construction of production facilities will finish by the end of this year to let production begin next year, Liang added.

(China Daily June 17, 2003)