First, Qualcomm acquisition NXP will consolidate the monopoly of the US semiconductor industry
(A) NXP and Qualcomm business complement each other
NXP Semiconductors (NXP), a renowned Dutch high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor company, was spin-off from Philips in 2006 and has become the world's largest automotive semiconductor company with automotive electronics, smart recognition, home entertainment, mobile and personal mobility Communications, multi-market semiconductors and other areas of innovative products and solutions, and long-term leadership in the field of radio frequency, identification and security As of January 31, 2018, NXP market value of 40.74 billion US dollars, ranked the world's semiconductor companies 13; 2017, NXP revenue of 8.65 billion US dollars, ranked 10th in the world's semiconductor companies.
Qualcomm, a leading wireless communications terminal baseband chip company in the United States, has long been in a monopoly position in the baseband chip market and has accumulated a large number of patents necessary for wireless communications standards such as CDMA, WCDMA and LTE. In 2016, Qualcomm shipped a 33.7% 50% of the market revenue (about 11.2 billion US dollars) ranked first in the global cellular baseband chip market in the LTE mobile baseband chip segment, Qualcomm shipments accounted for as high as 52% .As of January 31, 2018, Qualcomm market value Which was ranked the 8th in the world for semiconductor companies. In 2017, Qualcomm revenue was 17.06 billion U.S. dollars, up 10.7% from the same period of last year, ranking No. 5 in the global semiconductor industry.
In the field of semiconductors, Qualcomm and NXP are less complementary and complement each other due to different customer base and product areas Qualcomm focuses on areas such as mobile and computing, while NXP focuses on the automotive, Internet of Things, network convergence, security systems, etc. The acquisition of NXP by Qualcomm will not only monopolize automotive chips and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, but also control the market for baseband chips such as modems, NFC and WiFi through the world's broadest distribution channels, especially thanks to NXP The traditional financial 1C chip and mobile payment chip market are dominant, Qualcomm acquired NXP will basically monopolize the global financial data security business.
(B) Qualcomm business model to limit competition in the industry
Unlike traditional telecom companies, R & D, manufacturing and marketing model, Qualcomm created a patent licensing and chip design as the core of the ecological business model. With this unique model, Qualcomm forced the majority of handset manufacturers signed a baseband license agreement, and pay High patent royalties into the next generation of technology research and development Although Qualcomm successfully in the 2G and 3G era exclusive of the entire baseband chip market, and in the 4G era to maintain the global baseband chip industry, more than 50% of the proceeds, but its business model was More and more business complaints and regional antitrust agencies investigate and punish.
Qualcomm's business model suffered three major criticism.One is charged unfair high-priced patent license fee.Quote requires the licensee will hold the relevant patents to their free reverse license, and in adhering to the higher permit rates at the same time, According to the net wholesale price of the whole machine charge patent licensing fee.Second, the abuse of the essential patent licensing market in the wireless communication standard dominance, there is no justification for tying non-essential wireless communication standard patent license.Third, the base chip sales unreasonable addition Conditions Qualcomm signs and does not challenge the patent license agreement as the condition for the Chinese licensee to obtain its baseband chip supply, enabling the licensee to accept unfair and unreasonable patent licensing conditions.
(C) the acquisition will enhance the strength of the United States industry
Qualcomm acquired NXP will enable the global semiconductor industry to complete the basic concentration to the United States, greatly enhancing the strength of the US semiconductor industry. Qualcomm acquired NXP, the market value will reach 141.78 billion US dollars, becoming the second after Samsung, TSMC, Intel and NVIDIA the world's fifth Big semiconductor company.Not only that, Broadcom has announced its tender offer to Qualcomm in November 2017. On December 4, 2017, Broadcom announced that it has notified Qualcomm of the eleven nominee directors nominated to replace all current directors of Qualcomm Board of Directors In the future, if Broadcom successfully acquires Qualcomm, it will also produce the second largest semiconductor company in the world with a market capitalization of 245.44 billion U.S. dollars, greatly consolidating the U.S. monopoly in the semiconductor industry.
The following is the top 10 global revenue in 2017 semiconductor business profile:
Second, Qualcomm acquisition NXP will block the development of China's semiconductor industry
(1) The United States explicitly limits the development of China's semiconductor industry
US government positions China as strategic competitor In the first National Security Strategy Paper released by the Trump administration in December 2017, the United States positioned China as 'a strategic rival' of the United States and the United States will continue to seek to promote innovation in global science and technology The United States government has a clear purpose in blocking the breakthrough made by China in the area of chip technology so that China will always be controlled by information security and will stop China from pursuing the strategy of making "Made in China 2025" toward a high-end manufacturing power and a big innovation country aims.
The U.S. industry think tank recommended that the government restrict the development of China's semiconductor industry. In January 2017, the Semiconductor Working Group of the U.S. Presidential Science and Technology Advisory Committee published a report entitled "Securing the Long-Term Leadership of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry." The report clearly states that the rise of semiconductors in China Has posed a threat that "China is using the tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to influence the market advantage of the United States and threaten the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry and its global interests." Only through including industrial policies that block our country, etc. A series of measures to slow down the threat posed by the development of China's semiconductor industry and maintain the leading semiconductor industry in the United States.
The United States frequently hinders the foreign investment and mergers and acquisitions of China's semiconductor enterprises in the global semiconductor industry mergers and acquisitions frequently in recent years, the U.S. government and the president on many occasions in a row to block and veto our country's enterprises in Europe and the United States almost all investment in semiconductor companies mergers and acquisitions, and even threatened the United States And other research institutes to stop conducting general R & D cooperation projects with Chinese enterprises in the field of semiconductor technology; Frequently limit the applications submitted by US semiconductor suppliers for routine export of products when exporting chips to Chinese enterprises in an attempt to a comprehensive and comprehensive blockade and blocking of Chinese enterprises Acquisition and Breakthrough of the Most Core Semiconductor Technology and Products in High-end Manufacturing Industry In the past three years, all (a total of four) acquisitions by Chinese enterprises in European and American semiconductor companies have been rejected by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
(B) Qualcomm acquired NXP adverse to the development of China's industry
Will make China's semiconductor industry lags behind the United States for a long time.Golton uses the monopoly of the business model bundled around the world, there is the exclusion and restriction of competition misconduct, access to huge profits at the same time unfairly inhibited the competition in the chip industry, to a certain extent, damage The healthy development of the chip industry.Currently Qualcomm monopoly in the field of mobile phone chips, NXP's IC card in the financial chip, mobile payment security unit and NFC chip in the absolute monopoly position.The merger of these two giant companies is bound to make China In the fields of semiconductor, internet of things, car networking, mobile payment and intelligent transportation, it is only as heavy as the 2G and 3G baseband chip market. The future industrial development will lag behind the related industries in the United States for a long time. The main profit of the future industry will also be American companies snatched.
Will pose a serious threat to China's national security and information security.After the implementation of the merger, in the mobile communications, Internet of Things, car networking and mobile payment industries, the massive national institutions, enterprises and institutions and individuals financial, transportation, industrial civilian water and electricity And other important basic data will be completely dominated by the United States company, China's national information security will face a huge threat recently swept the global Windows system WannaCry ransomware and IntelCHJ chips 'fuse', 'ghost' loopholes are clear that the existence of foreign core technologies With serious security risks and even the presence of 'backdoors', foreign organizations will be very easy to implement the 'Prism Gate' surveillance program with these core technology vulnerabilities and gain extensive access to China's state secrets, trade secrets and personal privacy information, endangering China's national security and Information security has given China a long-term passive beating and precarious situation in the field of information and intelligence.
Will basically seal the high-end development path of China's integrated circuit companies.China Semiconductor Industry Association data show that in 2017 a total of about 1380 integrated circuit chip design companies in China, the general small-scale, research and development strength is weak.Of more than 1300 enterprises in more than 500 Home business profitability, most of the design companies in the field of Internet of Things, automotive electronics, consumer electronics startup team of less than 10 people, simply can not compete with Qualcomm after the acquisition of NXP giant NXP Qualcomm acquired NXP, the global staff will Reaching 67,000, this super combination will basically seal the high-end development of local integrated circuits in the fields of IoT, wearable, car networking, driverless, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics, industrial, embedded, consumer electronics and the like Road, leading to local design companies can only be limited in Beidou navigation, military, special fields, agricultural development and other niche segments.
Third, the relevant policy recommendations
(1) Improve the antitrust and security review system and services and firmly reject unfavorable transactions
First, the acquisition of NXP should Qualcomm set up the semiconductor industry regulators, professional anti-trust and security review, careful assessment of the acquisition case on the future development of China's semiconductor industry, and resolutely rejected unfavorable transactions. Second is to speed up the full implementation of the market Access to the negative list system and fair competition review system, the establishment of a credit rating system, improve the legal system of market supervision .Third, we should play a platform to support the role of industry associations and service agencies and other third-party authorities in the foreign investment industry access, Standard setting, credit rating and other aspects of participation.
(B) actively develop systematic countermeasures to create an industrial ecological environment
First, we should actively adopt strategic and systematic countermeasures, and cooperate with international antitrust organizations and foreign manufacturers to apply for the abolition of Qualcomm to receive huge royalties and reverse licensing and other unreasonable business model. Second, we should strengthen the United States government may Launched a series of fiscal, taxation and regulatory measures, and actively conducted international exchanges and trade negotiations and optimized the ecological environment for semiconductor business cooperation through various channels including government, enterprises, social organizations and the media. Third, we paid close attention to the competition in import and export trade and responded positively Silicon, raw materials and other important aspects of trade hot events.
(III) Implement cutting-edge innovation patent strategy and strengthen local innovation strength
First, we should increase financial input from the central and local governments for cutting-edge basic research, encourage transformation of cutting-edge basic research results and gradually reduce dependence on foreign technology imports.
The second is the implementation of the patent strategy to encourage enterprises to apply for cutting-edge technology innovation patents or patent applications for foreign patents quickly peripheral Third, the role of the industry association play a platform for timely follow-up of foreign patents for innovative technology research and encourage domestic enterprises Baotuan heating, Maximize the conditions for domestic chip applications.