By Bahk Eun-ji
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) of China is seeking to take over Dongbu HiTek, the nation’s only foundry chipmaker, industry sources said Monday.
The debt-ridden Dongbu Group, the nation’s 18th-largest conglomerate, has sought to sell the foundry unit as part of group-wide restructuring, pressured by its main creditor the Korea Development Bank (KDB).
Dongbu HiTek, the nation’s only contract chipmaker which was established in 1997, has a portfolio covering complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors, power management integrated circuits and digital audio amplifier chips.
A KDB spokesman said SMIC has shown interest in acquiring the foundry operator.
Last year, local automobile chipmaker iA withdrew its bid for Dongbu HiTek after it was picked as a preferred bidder.
KDB said the level of Dongbu HiTek’s technology is similar to the Chinese and Taiwanese competitors in system semiconductors.
The bank concluded that the sale of the firm to the Chinese company is unlikely to cause any concern about possible technology shifts to China.
The KDB spokesman, however, said talks with SMIC are in the initial stage, and there have been no exchanges of opinions on details, such as price.
SMIC is China’s largest semiconductor foundry, which receives support from the Chinese government.
A Dongbu HiTek spokesman declined to comment on the deal, saying only that KDB is overseeing the sale of the company.