AFP, BEIJING: China's largest chip maker has announced it will invest $30 billion to build a new semiconductor factory, as the world's second largest economy seeks to reduce its dependence on foreign technology. The state-owned Tsinghua Unigroup will open the facility in the city of Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province, where it will mainly produce chips used in consumer electronics such as cellphones, cameras and computers, according to a statement posted Thursday on the company's official website. The project "is of great significance to the independent innovation, large-scale production, and marketization of China's integrated circuit industry", the statement said.
The announcement comes after attempts by the company to take-over US chip makers Micron Technology and Sandisk were curbed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) over national security concerns.