A few days ago, Konka, a veteran domestic appliance company, announced the establishment of a semiconductor technology business unit to formally enter the semiconductor industry. Zhou Bin, president of Konka Group, said that it will take 5 to 10 years to join the ranks of internationally-reputable semiconductor companies and commit to becoming the top 10 semiconductor companies in China. , The annual revenue is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan.
Previously, Gree also disclosed in the 2017 financial report 'to enter the semiconductor integrated circuit industry'. Dong Zhuzhu, chairman of Zhuhai Gree Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., also said in an exclusive interview with CCTV Finance Channel recently: 'Even if you invest 50 billion yuan, Gree We must also succeed in the research of the chip. 'Geli and Konka have entered the semiconductor industry in succession. What do you mean? When you invest in large-scale investments, you are free to spread their rhetoric. Where does their confidence come from?
Positioning and application level
Integrated circuits are divided into different types based on their functional structure, manufacturing process, application areas, and applications. If divided from the perspective of the industry chain, Gree, Konka currently designs semiconductor businesses mostly related to IC design and packaging technology. From the information currently disclosed by the two companies, it can be seen that the semiconductor business areas they expand in the future are not all the same.
In 2017, Gree announced the establishment of a microelectronics division and plans to build its own chips. It is reported that Gree Microelectronics is a subsidiary of Gree Communications Technology Research Institute. It has existing digital front ends, digital back ends, analog designs, layout designs, hardware designs, software designs and power. Device design covers a complete R&D team covering the entire chip design process. For air-conditioning products, it involves a variety of chips, including external chips, internal chips, and compressor chips. According to related media reports, Gree Electric Co., Ltd. has started to manufacture IGBTs in the early years. (The insulated gate bipolar transistor is a kind of semiconductor power device, and the AC frequency conversion technology of air conditioner needs such components to support). The main chip of the air conditioner internal machine can also be designed, and it can be used for the part that cannot be designed. Outsourcing form. According to sources in the industry, Gree's chips are mainly based on design and satisfy self-use.
Recently, Li Hongyi, vice president of Konka Group, revealed the main development direction of Konka's semiconductor business in the future when interviewed by the media. He said: 'The storage and IoT chips are the two major directions of Konka's semiconductor business in the future. First, Konka's terminal sales are large. In the future, the market will grow bigger and bigger, and the storage business will be worthwhile to do in a down-to-earth manner. In addition, the future IoT chip technology will bring new opportunities for development. Focusing on this technology will be a layout for a company. Practical significance is very important in terms of strategic significance.
In addition, he also stated: 'Semiconductors are not an overnight industry. The upstream industry chain also needs attention. Konka will continue to invest in the production line, design, and packaging. 'At the same time, Li Hongyi also made it clear that Konka will not lay out the semiconductor crystal for the time being. Round related business.
The key period of transformation and upgrading Master the core competitiveness
'Gree, mastering core technology', this is Gree's classic slogan, but in the past Gree did not seem to attach too much importance to upstream chip technology. According to industry insiders, Dong Mingzhu was asked in an earlier interview that 'why not chip' Dong Mingzhu frankly said: 'The chip is very cheap, only a few dollars.'
Today, Dong Mingzhu's release of the '500 billion yuan rhetoric' must also be a recognition of the dangers of the upstream supply chain being controlled by people. It has learned the lessons of the 'Zhongxing Incident' and made its response tactics. According to professionals, China has become a global IGBT. The largest demand market, but still mainly rely on imports. In addition, ADC (modulus hybrid) control chip market supply is basically in the hands of companies such as the United States, Japan, and this chip is becoming increasingly important, it is almost applied to the current In the emerging field of rapid development, in the future, China's market consumption will accelerate, and home appliances such as air conditioners will also be high-end and intelligent. Enterprises without underlying technology will certainly lose at the starting line. Gree's entry into the semiconductor industry can be understood as Prepare for the 'next decade'.
Compared with Gree’s “learning lessons”, the company’s expansion of its semiconductor business is the epitome of the overall strategic transformation of Konka Group.
At a press conference recently held, Konka announced that it will restructure its business structure into four major business groups and two major science and technology divisions (including semiconductor technology divisions). In the future, Konka will be committed to creating technology-driven innovations. Platform-based company's core position. To detail the chip business, Li Hongyi said in an interview with the media: 'The current chip core technology is still dominant in foreign countries. But the Internet of Things is a brand-new technology field, which has given many companies corners. Overtaking opportunities. In the future, Konka will also take appropriate cooperation or mergers and acquisitions, acquisitions and other ways to expand the influence and technical strength in the semiconductor field.
As the old domestic appliance company, Konka had caught up with the market dividend brought by China's rapid economic growth, but it is also facing a difficult transition period. Konka is still in a loss state until 2015. In today's consumer upgrades and the strategic deployment of major companies In the key period, it is not unreasonable for Konka to take a bullish view of emerging emerging semiconductor industries.
Challenge hidden danger cop
'From the perspective of state responsibility, I am positive about making chips for home appliance companies; but from a business perspective, I have a negative attitude. 'A few days ago, household appliance industry observer Liu Buchen said in an interview: 'The chip and even the semiconductor industry needs With large capital investment, there is currently no Chinese household electrical appliance company that can afford it. 'You can see that Chinese home appliance companies and other industry giants have successfully entered the semiconductor industry and have successfully attracted the attention of the public, allowing Chinese people to see Chinese companies building China.' Core's determination, but at the same time some potential challenges and hidden dangers can not be ignored.
First of all, from the point of view of business management, the layout of new industries means continuous, substantial investment, and will not achieve profitability for export in the short term. This requires companies to have strong enough integration, digestive capacity and healthy finance as support. With regard to strength alone, looking solely at the financial situation, it presents a great challenge to eager home appliance companies.
Taking Konka as an example, according to its 2017 annual report, during the reporting period, the Group achieved a total operating revenue of RMB 31.2 billion and a profit of RMB 5 billion (mostly from outward sales of real estate). This is the best performance of Konka in recent years. The annual report, but it seems to be untenable to support its development goals in the IC industry.
Zhao Weiguo, chairman of the domestic integrated circuit leading enterprise, Ziguang Group, once said publicly: 'If you want to enter the first group as an integrated circuit, you will need large-scale capital investment. You cannot invest 10 billion US dollars in one year and you cannot enter the first place. The group's “Comprehensive capacity of the IC industry” is evident. Compared with Konka, Gree’s financial report data in recent years, it can be seen that their semiconductor business development still has a long way to go.
Of course, learning to avoid ignorance is light, and in some 'specialization' areas, the Chinese company’s expertise can be utilized, or new paths will be opened up. Dong Min, Vice President of Ovid Cloud Network, told the “China Electronics News” reporter: 'The global economy is gradually integrating. However, for the country and the industry, it is still necessary to have a sense of crisis. Policy formulation and implementation should be more pragmatic. Beware of speculative thinking that diversifies resources in the physical sector and impacts the development of the industry. For home appliance companies or cross-border companies, it does not have to be focused. In the core of integrated circuits, avoid heavy assets and beware of low-end excess capacity.
In addition, the 2017 KONKA earnings report also showed that color TV business achieved revenue of 11.795 billion yuan for the whole year, gross profit rate reached 16.11%, and contributed 1.932 billion yuan profit to the group. It is still a pillar industry for Konka to survive. Gree relied on its main business The situation is even more obvious. In 2017, Gree's air-conditioning business accounted for more than 80% of the company’s revenue, with annual revenue of 123.4 billion yuan, an increase of 40% year-on-year. The future Gree, Konka need to be vigilant, while fully expanding new business, How to prevent the main business from being dragged down and ensure the financial data is healthy. This is also a practical issue for Gree, Konka.