[News] China’s Chip Equipment Giant Naura Tech Acquires Stake in Kingsemi amid Local Industry Integration

China’s semiconductor industry is speeding up integration amid U.S. tensions, as the country’s chip equipment giant Naura Technology plans to acquire a 9.5% stake in local photolithography coating equipment maker Kingsemi for RMB 1.69 billion (USD 232.8 billion), according to ijiwei and the Economic Daily News.

Naura plans to further boost its stake in Kingsemi within a year to gain control, according to the Economic Daily News. Meanwhile, third-largest shareholder Shenyang AMT (Advanced Manufacturing Technology) is selling an 8.4% stake, with Naura reportedly joining the auction. If both deals succeed, Naura Technology will secure a 17.9% stake and control of Kingsemi, as per the report.

According to ijiwei, Naura Technology is currently China’s largest semiconductor equipment company, specializing in sectors like etching, thin-film deposition, and cleaning/epitaxy, with market shares of 30%, 25%, and over 2%, respectively.

As Kingsemi is the only domestic supplier capable of mass-producing front-end coating and developing machines, the acquisition is expected to fill gaps in Naura’s portfolio, adding coating, chemical cleaning and bonding capabilities to the company, the ijiwei report suggests.

Domestic Tools Rise as China Pushes Localization

In a market dominated by global chip giants, Naura reportedly ranks among the world’s top ten semiconductor equipment makers, trailing only ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and KLA, according to the Economic Daily News.

NAURA Technology’s 2024 performance forecast projects revenue between RMB 27.6 billion and RMB 31.78 billion (roughly USD 4.4 billion), reflecting a year-on-year growth of 25.00% to 43.93%. As a comparison, Dutch semiconductor giant ASML recorded €28.3 billion (USD 30.8 billion) in 2024 revenue.

As noted by the Economic Daily News report, while China pushes for localization amid U.S. restrictions, local foundries, OSAT firms, and panel makers are boosting domestic equipment purchases.

The report indicates that foundry companies like SMIC, Hua Hong, and memory leader YMTC are adopting Chinese tools from local providers such as AMEC, Naura Tech, and ACM Research for their 28nm and more advanced nodes.

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(Photo credit: Naura Technology)