Chapter 395 TSMC’s Dream Start

Chapter 395 TSMC’s Dream Start

Chapter 395 TSMC’s Dream Start
After Zhou Jianhua shook hands with Yin Zhaotang, he sat back on the sofa, looked at the rumored big boss of Hong Kong, and said with a smile: "Boss Yin is so young, what business is he doing in Hong Kong Island?"

"Our main business is an electronics factory, and we also run some clothing and footwear business, as well as foreign trade." Yin Zhaotang crossed his legs, sat with his arms and legs spread out, opened a book by Dupont, lit a red cigar, and put on an overbearing attitude.

In business negotiations, you must never lose momentum.

Zhou Jianhua nodded slightly, smoking a cigarette and said, "As expected, he is the big boss, so Vice President Liang would come out to coordinate in person. So, Boss Yin's electronics factory is going to develop new products?"

Yin Zhaotang smiled and said, "Old product, new production line."

Zhou Jianhua said: "What product? It's not a trade secret, right?"

Yin Zhaotang blew out a smoke ring and said, "We are one family, so there is no need to keep it secret. It is actually a cassette radio that we want to make and sell in Hong Kong Island."

Zhou Jianhua nodded: "Cassette radios are good things. Several factories in Nanjing and Shanghai are developing them. Yin Sheng's factory can actually make them."

Radio was one of the earliest popular electrical appliances in China, and it entered almost every household in the 1960s, but they were mainly tube radios.

It could only receive radio signals but could not play tape recordings. Cassette radios were the most common portable radios on the streets of Hong Kong Island in the 1980s.

It can play music tapes, receive radio stations, and even eavesdrop.

Classified by components, it belongs to "integrated circuit radio" and involves semiconductor manufacturing.

Yin Zhaotang said: "Zhonghe Electronics is just a small factory, of course it can't handle it. There are many components and technologies to buy, such as your company's fourth-generation step-by-step projection lithography machine."

Liang Manping interrupted, "Director Zhou, Zhonghe Electronics has a good production capacity. It is not only sold overseas, but also very popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Jiangxi."

Zhou Jianhua smiled and said, "I know all this. He is the one who makes all the fake and parallel-imported products. There is a big boss with great power who transferred me all the way from the Shanghai workshop with a piece of paper. I have to check my background."

"But lithography machines are state secrets. Unless we get approval from the Ministry of Electronics Industry, there is no possibility of exporting them."

The predecessor of the Ministry of Electronics Industry was the "Fourth Ministry of Machine Building". Like the "Fifth Ministry of Machine Building" which was responsible for military industry, it has completed the reform. Except for retaining the administrative leadership body, all the subordinate units have been market-oriented.

However, unlike the reform of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, which led to the closure of a large number of small factories during the Third Front Construction period, the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building's business is more cutting-edge, mainly in the fields of radar, communications, radio, computers, components, etc.

In addition to military orders, each factory also has a considerable number of foreign trade and market orders.

For example, in the component industry, taking the "Shanghai Electric Factory No. 14" as an example, its annual output value is more than 30 million. The "Shangyuan Electric Industry Cluster" distributed in Shanghai has an annual output value of over 100 million and was a pillar industry in the 1980s.

It was understandable that the representative of Shanghai Electric Power Plant No. 14 was somewhat arrogant, but he had not telegraphed to call him here to chat. He immediately frowned and said, "Nothing to discuss?"

Zhou Jianhua said: "There is no room for negotiation on lithography machines, but integrated circuit boards can be exported directly."

Yin Zhaotang immediately turned his gaze away: "Brother Ping, can you contact the Ministry of Electronics Industry and get the approval document? What I want is technical reserves, not circuit exports."

"For pure integrated circuit boards, Toshiba and Nikon are both cheaper."

Liang Manping rested his elbows on the armrest of the sofa and readily agreed: "Okay, I'll contact them."

Yin Zhaotang immediately stood up and extended his hand to Zhou Jianhua: "Thank you, Director Zhou. Let's talk again when we have the chance."

Zhou Jianhua shook hands again in a daze, and saw that he and Liang Manping had already left quickly. He was surprised and asked, "Leaving now?"

Du Zihua, who came with me to do business, entered the hotel suite, threw his bag, searched the cabinet, and complained: "You don't know how high the sky is, you come to deliver foreign trade orders and still act like a big shot."

"Starve him to death!"

Yin Zhaotang took the soda thrown at him and was not angry: "He is also a businessman and wants to make a profit." Du Zihua scolded: "If he likes to be a businessman, he is a businessman. If he likes to be an official, he is an official. He will be whatever identity is good for him."

During the transition period, there were many similar chaos, and it was impossible to investigate them all. Fortunately, Yin Zhaotang had more than one dual identity, and he was like a fish in water in the current environment, and he could use magic to defeat magic.

His purpose of coming to the mainland was very simple, which was to purchase domestically produced fourth-generation lithography machines and build Zhonghe Electronics' second product line - pocket cassette radios.

The Walkman, a tape player with headphones, was launched by Sony in 79. Using integrated circuit board technology, the large "portable radio" was reduced to a portable radio that can be carried around, and then further reduced in size.

The product continued to iterate, and later there were "mini radios" and "built-in radios", but both were hidden components, serving as functional parts of other electrical appliances, and installed in MP3, CD players, mobile phones and other products.

It can be said that starting with the radio, we officially entered the blue ocean of the electronics industry, and we can produce products from the popular ones in the 80s to the end.

And with the volume of commercial orders, the development of the domestic semiconductor industry is supported, and the funds invested are sufficient, even ahead of the times.

Because, in the early 80s, the technology of China's semiconductor industry was among the top two in the world, second only to the United States.

The electronic component project was launched during the First Five-Year Plan, and was jointly developed by two top universities in Beijing and Qingdao, led by Huang Kun, Xie Xide and other national figures.

The first domestic integrated circuit board was only 7 years later than that of the United States, on par with that of Japan, and even 10 years earlier than that of South Korea.

In 1980, the fourth generation of domestic photolithography machines reached the world's mainstream level, with a photolithography accuracy of 3 microns, and were put into commercial use. In terms of technology, China was ahead of Japan and on par with the United States.

TSMC, which later became a famous bottleneck king, was not launched until 86 and was established in 87 with the help of technology transfer from the United States.

In the early 80s, we wanted to establish ourselves in the electronics industry and were not content to be just an assembler; we wanted to be self-reliant in product research and development.

In fact, we should not go to Japan, Taiwan, or South Korea to find technology, but should go to China to find technology! As for the fact that the United States will not sell technology to the Chinese, don't even think about it.

Moreover, the 80s was a window period. If we missed it, after Reagan's visit to China in the early 80s, integrated circuit boards and components from Japan and the United States would flood into the market in large numbers, impacting the domestic semiconductor industry.

At that time, pillar companies such as "Shanghai Electric Factory 14" and "Shanghai Dianyuan Factory 3" went bankrupt one after another. Domestic integrated circuit boards lacked sales, and semiconductor technology naturally fell behind. In the next boom period of the electronics industry, they became the targets of technology harvesting.

These "sickling" industry layouts and technology transfers to Japan and Taiwan were actually planned by the United States before the honeymoon period between China and the United States. The United States simply opened up its market in exchange for economic development. It did not realize that among the large number of industries that went bankrupt during the wave of opening up, some may be future growth points.

Even if they realize this, they are no match for the US, which fully demonstrates that "if you lag behind, you will be beaten."

After establishing himself in the electronics industry by assembling call machines, Yin Zhaotang has spent nearly two years building a mature production team.

There are local workers, Taiwanese engineers, and American engineers. It is actually a very good time to manufacture and develop integrated circuits and enter the radio industry.

Because the Hong Kong music scene was about to usher in an explosive period in the 1980s. In the field of Cantonese pop music, there were already born Xu Guanjie, Lin Zixiang, Beyond, as well as idol-style artists such as Alan Tam, Danny Chan, Anita Mui and Cheung Kwok Wing.

Along with the music industry, the cassette tape and cassette radio also exploded. Compared with the limited income from training singers, the income from the tape recording industry was higher, and the income and prospects brought by cassette radio manufacturing were the most cutting-edge field in the entire industry chain.

Just like the explosion of Mandarin pop music in the 00s, which prompted the development of industries such as CDs, mp3s, and mp4s, the final winner will become a domestic mobile phone manufacturer.

After all, a record company has limited resources and can only produce a few superstars. In addition, there are many competitors in the record industry. A genuine cassette sells for 20 Hong Kong dollars, but a large number of pirated copies only cost a dozen or even a few dollars. But a Walkman costs at least 500 Hong Kong dollars, and a small cassette radio costs more than 300. It is truly a high-tech field.

With domestic lithography machines and the accessory technology purchased from Japan, if Zhonghe Electronics grows up, it will be able to retain the country's leading technological spark and allow the country's dream start to continue until the final period of explosive growth.

Chunghwa Electronics is expected to become the "TSMC of Hong Kong" and will have no problem making millions of people in the New Territories rich.

Of course, TSMC’s grand blueprint actually conflicts with the domestic “electronic breakthrough” strategy, and it must not be made public when purchasing technical equipment.

(End of this chapter)