Chapter 395 of the main text: IGCT Alliance

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"Do you want to build a wafer factory in Xiangjiang?"

"Although the conditions of Xiangjiang are more complicated, the fact that it is not restricted by Batumi is still very useful. ”

Hu Wenhai nodded as he walked, and explained to Secretary Lan, who had made a special trip over: "The current equipment of the new technology wafer factory in Modu can only be regarded as the world-class level, and there is still at least a generation gap from the advanced level. And this gap will only get bigger and bigger over time. Even if I invest in the research and development of fab technology, it will take some time for China to catch up with the world's advanced level. ”

Secretary Lan took a breath a little, he finally stopped Hu Wenhai halfway, and he didn't even have time to wipe the sweat on his forehead now.

"So, what is Mr. Hu's plan?" he asked tentatively.

"My plan is simple: to set up a joint venture fab in Heung Kong, with the world's major semiconductor companies as shareholders. On the one hand, this wafer factory can provide international leading wafer products to China, and on the other hand, it is a real factory for the technical transformation of Modu Xinke Wafer Factory. Before 1997, we strive to pass the guò technology channel so that the domestic semiconductor production technology can catch up with the international advanced level, and form a self-upgrading ability. ”

"In order to achieve this, the Heung Kong fab has to achieve a delicate state. On the surface, he should have nothing to do with our mainland, but in fact, he is going to be controlled by us. ”

"How is this going to be achieved?" Secretary Lan frowned, a little incomprehensible: "Unless you don't participate in this fab at all, you will definitely be affected by Batumi." But if you don't have equity, how can you control them?"

"It's a two-handed preparation. Hu Wenhai said confidently: "One is money, the other is power, the profitability of this wafer factory must be grasped by us, and the other management must be implemented by someone we trust." ”

"You mean to let us mainlanders be the managers of this fab?"

Hu Wenhai shook his finger and smiled mysteriously: "No, no, the people we sent over are mainly technical positions, and the management has people with mainland backgrounds, which is too conspicuous." But who said that the person who listens to us must be his own person? Isn't there such a saying, there is no place to keep a master here, but there is a place to keep a master. Don't leave the master everywhere, and the master will go to the eight roads. If you want people to join the Communist Party, in addition to looking at their background and class, you can also make him desperate, so he can only work for us, right?"

"Oh!" Secretary Lan widened his eyes and couldn't help nodding and said, "That's right, so you named Zhang Zhongmou to be the manager of this fab." Because now, he has no way out, so he can only cast ...... Run to us!"

Hu Wenhai narrowed his eyes and smiled in confusion.

The door of the conference room was pushed open by the waiter who was already waiting in front of the door, and Hu Wenhai tidied up his clothes and walked in with his head held high.

"Hello, dear Hu!"

When Hu Wenhai sat down at the table, the person next to him immediately came up and respectfully handed over a business card: "I am Clement of TI company, and I hope we can have the opportunity to cooperate." ”

"I'm Curtis from STMicroelectronics, and if Mr. Hu has the opportunity to go to Italy, he can come to my winery and taste the famous Italian starry sky wine. ”

"Hello Mr. Hu, the contemptible person is Mitsubishi Corporation's Mitarai Akaji, do you remember that Izu Onsen Komatsu accompanied you on your return trip?"

"Huh?" Hu Wenhai turned his head and picked out Mitarai Akaji's business card. He coughed and nodded, "Oh, it's Mr. Mitarai, let's have a good chat after the meeting." ”

Mitarai Akaji's mouth was almost grinning behind his ears, and he bowed and nodded again and again: "Hey, I'm at the mercy of Hu Jun's orders." ”

Hu Wenhai put the business card into his trouser pocket, smacked his lips, pressed his hand and said: "Representatives of the power electronics industry and major enterprises, Xinke welcomes everyone's arrival. I think you should be well aware of the content of this negotiation. IGCT technology can be said to be of revolutionary significance in the field of electric transmission. It means that electric transmission can surpass mechanical transmission in a certain field in terms of efficiency. Not to mention the IGCT technology, the comprehensive technical advantages of thyristor technology, which is currently widely used in the world. How big is the market for IGCT technology? How big is the power semiconductor market, it can be said that the market for IGCT technology is as big as it is. IGCT technology replaces thyristor technology, which can be said to be a very clear result. On the basis of this fact, the distribution of this market will be an issue that we need to resolve in this negotiation. ”

Hu Wenhai looked around at the people in the conference room, nodded and asked, "I don't think anyone has an opinion on the point that IGCT will replace thyristor technology, right?"

The representatives of the international companies looked at each other, and although they wanted to express their objections, in the end, no one spoke, and they could only bow their heads unwillingly.

"Very good, so let's talk about the plan proposed by ST. Hu Wenhai nodded and waved his hand to send the information to these representatives: "I hope that all of us companies here can join forces to promote IGCT technology." To put it simply, it is an IGCT consortium that develops new products based on IGCT technology. The foundation of this alliance is a wafer fab built in Xiangjiang. ST will license the patents of IGCT technology to this fab, and how to distribute the products of the fab, I think it should be a more reasonable way to distribute the products according to the shares. ”

After Hu Wenhai said this, the representatives of the various companies below suddenly became a mess. Hu Wenhai's hand can be said to be quite ruthless, and it is obviously the rhythm of killing three soldiers with two peaches. Representatives of the various companies who had planned to work together to fight against ST suddenly became adversaries. The alliance has fallen apart before it has even worked.

Listening to the crowd below, people are all beating their heads out of the head for the shares of the wafer factory, Hu Wenhai couldn't help but smile.

There are many advantages to the fab built in this way, and the patent is granted to the new fab for the production of IGCT chips, which can ensure that ST has control over the fab. More than a dozen companies participated in the distribution of shares, ensuring that they could not really unite against ST. As a technology provider, ST can ensure sufficient initiative on this basis.

On the other hand, because the products of various companies are taken from the Xiangjiang wafer factory, with the development of the market, they will inevitably be required to continuously increase their output. The way to increase the output of the wafer factory and improve the technical level is obviously much more reasonable and profitable than simply increasing the production equipment. With such a large market as power semiconductors hanging, there is no fear that these companies will be unwilling to invest in new equipment and new technologies in the Xiangjiang wafer factory.

This is Hu Wenhai's real purpose, to ensure that the technology of domestic wafer factories must at least keep up with the international mainstream.

As for how to distribute and balance the output of the wafer factory, this is not something Hu Wenhai needs to worry about. As long as he grasps the management of the Xiangjiang wafer fab and uses a large number of export labor services from the mainland at the bottom and middle levels, his goal can be said to have been achieved.

"Hussan, I heard that China's railways are increasing investment in construction. ”

Taking advantage of the chaos in the conference room, Mitsubishi's Mitarai Akaji quietly sat down beside Hu Wenhai: "Our Japanese bank is now very well funded, and if the Chinese Ministry of Railways is willing, Mitsubishi can provide a low-interest, or even interest-free loan." ”

"Oh?" Hu Wenhai looked at Mitarai Akaji with some surprise, nodded and said, "Yes, there is indeed such a thing, so what does Mitsubishi want?"

Mitarai Akaji said respectfully with a smile on his face: "Hu Sang and our Mitsubishi are old friends, and this time the Xiangjiang wafer factory needs your support!"

The Mitsubishi Foundation, like other consortia in Japan, covers everything from diapers to fighter jets. However, Mitsubishi's management is also focused, and it can be said that it is its traditional advantage in terms of electromechanical. Mitsubishi Electric's business scope covers products that can be said to be the entire electromechanical market, and has a leading position in the fields of heavy electrical equipment, satellites, defense systems, elevators and escalators, automotive electronics, air conditioning, ventilation equipment, etc., and the Mitsubishi Electric Group itself is one of the world's top 500 companies.

From the very beginning, Mitarai Akaji knew that more than a dozen enterprises were sitting together to grab the shares of a company, and there would be no result in this matter at all! The distribution of shares in the Xiangjiang wafer factory was still the new technology company, no, it should be said that Hu Wenhai himself had the right to decide.

Hu Wenhai knocked on the table with his hand, looked at Mitarai Akaji and smiled, and said: "Mitarai San's abacus is not very shrewd, the loan of the Ministry of Railways is the benefit of the Ministry of Railways, but you want to take the shares of the Xiangjiang Wafer Factory from me?

Mitarai Akaji rolled his eyes, and hurriedly said sincerely: "It's me who is confused, this is really inappropriate." In this case, how about asking the Chinese government to provide Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with a part of the export of labor in exchange for interest-free loans?"

"Well, Mitarai-san's proposal, I'll report it to the relevant departments of our country. Hu Wenhai nodded with a smile, quite satisfied with Mitarai Akaji's journey.

He did not withdraw the loan because of this, but immediately found another reason for getting the loan. If you don't say that the Japanese pay attention to details, it's a bit interesting.

If the loan does not play a role in the distribution of shares in the Heung Kong Wafer Fab, it will undoubtedly feel too utilitarian and philistine. Although this is the norm in shopping malls, it is not so comfortable in Eastern culture. And immediately after being vetoed, Mitsubishi was quite sincere in this matter.

Seeing Hu Wenhai's satisfied expression, Mitarai Akaji hurriedly continued: "Mitsubishi is very sincere in cooperating with Xinke Company, not only the Xiangjiang Wafer Factory, but we are also very interested in the general section shipbuilding method. Whenever possible, we are more than willing to work with ST in any area. ”

"Oh, any field?" Hu Wenhai raised his eyebrows: "Mitsubishi is really generous this time." ”

Mitarai Akaji said sincerely: "Hussan's satisfaction is our goal. ”

"Speaking of which, I do have some interest in Mitsubishi's compressor technology. If Mitsubishi is willing to help ST build a compressor production line, it is not impossible for the Xiangjiang Wafer Fab and the general section shipbuilding method to cooperate. ”

"Compressor production line?" Mitarai Akaji frowned, a little embarrassed by Hu Wenhai's eyes.

In the hands of Mitsubishi Electric, the compressor is undoubtedly a fist product. As the key equipment of refrigeration equipment, compressors have a large number of applications in refrigerators and air conditioners.

In the 80s, many well-known domestic home appliance companies imported compressors from Japan and produced white goods. The domestic compressor can only shake the head faster. For the sake of importing compressor shares, I don't know how many companies have staged scenes of joys and sorrows.

Among the imported compressors, there is no doubt that the compressors produced by Mitsubishi Electric are the products with the best performance and quality. It is conceivable that if China can produce products with similar performance, Mitsubishi Electric is not a happy situation.

But on the other hand, if the domestic compressor can be produced by itself, it will be of considerable significance to save foreign exchange for China's home appliance industry.

"Well, I can't give Husan a conclusion right now. It is better for me to communicate with the country, and I will give you a satisfactory answer. ”

Hu Wenhai never thought that he would achieve his goal with just a few words, and he was not determined to achieve the compressor production line. Anyway, with the development of the domestic industrial level, it is a field that will be conquered sooner or later, and it is of course the best to have it, and it is not a problem that is too strict.

"Of course, I can wait, but the fab negotiation may not wait. Hu Wenhai smiled and nodded at Mitarai Akaji.

The first negotiations of the IGCT coalition, of course, were inconclusive. In the end, everyone was tired of arguing, and then they ended the meeting one after another and exhausted.

However, the end of the negotiations is not the end, on the contrary, it is only the beginning. The real decision cannot be made by the quarrel at the negotiation table, only the transaction after the meeting is the real highlight.

As soon as Hu Wenhai returned to his room at the Great Wall Hotel, someone soon came looking for him. The door of the business suite is very thick, and the sound of knocking from the outside is a bit dull.

Wang Ye opened the door carefully under Hu Wenhai's instructions. After confirming the identity of the visitor, he turned sideways and moved behind the door.

"Mr. Clement, what do you want to drink?" Hu Wenhai stood in the bar and raised the cup in his hand to Clement of TI Company who walked in.

"Have a glass of orange juice, I don't drink alcohol during working hours. Under the leadership of Wang Ye, Clement sat on the sofa in the living room, took the orange juice handed by Hu Wenhai, and said with a smile: "Mr. Hu is really surprisingly young, seeing you reminds me of Mr. Wang An, Chinese people always seem to have the ability to create miracles." ”

Hu Wenhai sat down and said with a smile: "I can't compare with Mr. Wang An, Wang An Computer is now one of the top 500 companies in the United States, but ST is only a Chinese company. ”

"The strength of a company lies not in where it is, but in its profitability. Clement took a sip of orange juice and placed the cup on the coffee table: "Let's get straight to the point, Mr. Hu." Ti wants to get IGCT technology, not a stake in any Heung Kong fab. To tell the truth, the fab in Xiangjiang is not a secret, the Batumi Commission is not a body that only knows how to implement the provisions, and it is not difficult to add and remove prohibited items and regions. If the Batumi Committee believes that Xiangjiang's fabs will lead sensitive technologies into China, it only takes one meeting for Xiangjiang to enter the embargo list. ”

"Oh, I can imagine. Hu Wenhai nodded and looked at Clement: "But Batumi itself is not monolithic, right? Where there are interests, it can be operated, and I think Mr. Clement is not here today just to pour cold water on me." ”

"Of course, of course. Clement smiled and said proudly: "Just like the wafer factory under construction in China's magic capital, under the operation of DuPont and Motorola, the equipment you need has also entered China openly. That's because you're behind a tens of billions of dollars deals, a global market for lithium-ion batteries. Compared to the benefits lost by ST, IMHO a fab cannot make up for the losses suffered by ST. ”

Hu Wenhai leaned back on the sofa and shook his head relaxedly: "I don't think that ST has suffered a loss in the transaction, the market for lithium-ion batteries is very large, but the development of this market exceeds the ability of ST. However, the development of the semiconductor industry is the strategic direction of ST in the future, and we are willing to pay some price for this. If TI can help, ST doesn't mind exchanging benefits like lithium batteries. ”

"good!" Clement snapped his fingers excitedly, his eyes blazing: "I think we have finally found a consensus, TI still has some energy in the United States." If ST works with us, I can say that this must be the best decision Mr. Hu has ever made!"

"So, what can TI provide me?" Hu Wenhai spread his hands and looked at Clement calmly.

Americans have always been foolful, and Hu Wenhai will not take Clement's promises lightly. It is true that TI has some power in the United States -- as an arms supplier to the United States, yes, TI was really an important American arms supplier until the defense systems division was acquired by Raytheon in 1997.

In the fields of precision-guided weapons, anti-radiation missiles, airborne radars, night vision systems, and electronic warfare systems, TI has provided the US team with a large number of advanced technologies.

Its famous AGM-45 Mozu anti-radiation missile and Paveway laser-guided bomb can be said to have created a precedent for the US military's precision strike in the air.

It should be credible that such a company can have a certain influence on US policy. But if it can be said that it can shake the tight blockade of Batumi, this Hu Wenhai can only wait and see.

"Actually, there's a lot that TI has to offer. Clement smiled and said, "However, there are not many things that can be exchanged for IGCT technology, and TI company hopes to obtain a full set of IGCT production technology." Of course, on the civilian side, Mr. Hu can rest assured that we just hope to be able to apply IGCT technology to the military side as much as possible. ”

Hu Wenhai spread his hand and nodded: "No problem, as long as TI does not infringe on civil patents, I can transfer the American patent of IGCT technology to TI company." ”

IGCT technology is still under wraps, and TI is not clear that IGCT is only a design problem. The expected Xiangjiang wafer fab is in the hands of Chinese, and even as a shareholder, TI is worried that it will not have access to the core technology at that time. One of the characteristics of power semiconductors is that they cannot be reverse-engineered.

Ordinary digital chips, as long as they are willing to pay the cost, can always do reverse engineering. But the essence of power semiconductors lies in the handling of chip materials, not in the design of IC circuits. These special semiconductor materials that constitute power semiconductors are treated like special steels in the processing process, and it is impossible to infer how many processes the special steel has undergone such as tempering, quenching and annealing based on the sample alone, and those vital trace elements are added to the steel.

For example, replacing gallium arsenide with gallium nitride in the T/R module of phased array radar can directly improve performance by at least four times. But what to do with gallium nitride to achieve this performance has simply stumped the Americans for two decades. After the phased array radar of gallium arsenide was produced in 1964, it was not until 1983 that the United States applied gallium nitride to the pre-research of the APG-77 phased array radar.

It is precisely with such concerns that TI has to plan to get the full set of IGCT production technology from Hu Wenhai.

If we wait until IGCT is put into use in large quantities, the U.S. team will not mind whether it infringes on the patent rights of Chinese companies. With TI's technical level, it is easy to copy out IGCT.

Seeing that Hu Wenhai was so good at talking, Clement also nodded happily: "Okay, then TI can also promise to help Xinke break through the ...... of the Paris Coordinating Committee."

Before Clement could finish speaking, Hu Wenhai unceremoniously interrupted him: "Does Mr. Clement think that I don't know anything about the Paris Coordinating Committee? If you have such an attitude, then I can only think that TI has no sincerity to cooperate." ”

Clement was stunned for a moment, and quickly changed his tone and smiled: "Mr. Hu misunderstood, I mean that TI can try its best to push for the lifting of the high-tech embargo on China in Congress." Of course, whether it will succeed or not, there is no certain result. ”

Hu Wenhai waved his hand: "Let's talk about some practical things, what can TI provide me?"

To say that Breakthrough Batumi provides advanced chip production equipment for the new technology fab is obviously beyond the capacity of TI. But there is often not only one solution to the problem, and from another perspective, there may be new discoveries.

In order to catch up with the world's advanced level, Xinke hopes to survive in the market competition, and the direct consequence of backward technology is the decline in competitiveness. So in that case, how about giving the ST fab a product that can improve its competitiveness by using the current technology?

Clement was silent for a while, and then said, "I don't know if ST is interested in DSP technology?"