According to industry reports, the expansion project of the 12-inch wafer fab of SMIC Tianjin has officially commenced production, with the new capacity primarily aimed at automotive-grade chips and power semiconductors, marking a further improvement in the domestic mature process capacity layout. As the cornerstone of the global information technology industry, semiconductor manufacturing plays a crucial role in the transformation from design to packaging and testing, with its technical level directly determining the performance and cost of chips.
In recent years, driven by the global chip shortage and geopolitical factors, countries have accelerated the localization process of semiconductor manufacturing. Domestic companies have gradually narrowed the gap with international giants in the mature process field through technological iteration and capacity expansion, with breakthroughs in niche markets such as automotive and industrial control injecting new vitality into the industry.
The semiconductor manufacturing supply chain encompasses multiple links including wafer foundry, equipment materials, and EDA software, with tight upstream and downstream collaboration, significant technical barriers, and financial barriers. With the explosive growth of downstream markets such as new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, the demand for semiconductor manufacturing continues to rise, and companies with stable capacity and technological reserves will welcome long-term development opportunities.
This issue will focus on semiconductor manufacturing and related fields, selecting core companies based on business relevance and presenting the top 10 companies with strong profitability in this field according to return on equity (ROE) data. The choice of return on equity as a core indicator is because it can comprehensively reflect the efficiency of asset utilization and the quality of profitability; a high ROE often indicates that the company has advantages in cost control, technology transformation, or market competitiveness.
Note: The following content does not constitute any investment advice, guidance, or commitment, and is for discussion purposes only.
10th Place: Changdian Technology
Segment: Integrated Circuit Packaging and Testing
Return on Equity:3.21% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company has been laying out in the advanced packaging field for many years, providing SiP, Chiplet and other high-end packaging services for domestic and foreign chip design companies, with its automotive-grade packaging capacity continuously expanding and establishing long-term cooperation with multiple automotive chip manufacturers.
9th Place: Tongfu Microelectronics
Segment: Integrated Circuit Packaging and Testing, Advanced Packaging in Wafer Mid-Process
Return on Equity:3.57% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company possesses leading domestic FC, BGA and other advanced packaging technologies, occupying a certain market share in the high-end chip packaging fields such as CPU, GPU, while actively expanding its automotive and industrial control chip packaging business.
8th Place: Huahai Qingshi
Segment: Semiconductor Wafer Thinning Equipment, Polishing Equipment
Return on Equity:3.89% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company is one of the few in China that can provide 12 inch wafer thinning and polishing equipment, with products entering the supply chains of mainstream wafer fabs such as SMIC and Huahong, breaking the monopoly of overseas manufacturers.
7th Place: Zhongwei Company
Segment: Etching Equipment, MOCVD Equipment
Return on Equity:4.12% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s etching equipment has been applied in 5nm, 7nm advanced processes, with a gradually increasing market share in domestic wafer fabs, while its MOCVD equipment occupies a leading global position in the third-generation semiconductor field.
6th Place: Shanghai Silicon Industry
Segment: Silicon Wafer R&D and Manufacturing
Return on Equity:4.35% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s 12 inch silicon wafer capacity is continuously being released, with products validated by multiple international chip manufacturers, achieving mass supply in both mature and advanced process fields, effectively alleviating the dependence on imported silicon wafers.
5th Place: Silan Microelectronics
Segment: Power Semiconductors, Integrated Circuit Chip Design and Manufacturing
Return on Equity:4.78% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company has the advantage of an IDM model (integrated device manufacturing), leading in technology in the fields of IGBT, MOSFET, and automotive-grade products have entered the supply chain of new energy vehicles.
4th Place: SMIC
Segment: Integrated Circuit Wafer Foundry
Return on Equity:5.23% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: As the largest wafer foundry in China, the company leads in capacity in the 28nm and above mature process fields, actively laying out the automotive and IoT chip foundry market while promoting the R&D of advanced process technologies.
3rd Place: North Huachuang
Segment: Semiconductor Equipment (Etching, Thin Film Deposition, Cleaning, etc.)
Return on Equity:5.67% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company’s product line covers multiple links in semiconductor manufacturing, with 14nm equipment achieving mass production applications, continuously increasing its share in domestic wafer fab equipment procurement, and leading the industry in the speed of technological catch-up.
2nd Place: Weir Shares
Segment: Semiconductor Discrete Devices, CMOS Image Sensors
Return on Equity:6.12% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company became the third-largest supplier of CMOS image sensors globally through the acquisition of OmniVision, with products widely used in smartphones, automotive electronics, etc., and the market share of automotive-grade sensors rapidly increasing.
1st Place: Zhongying Electronics
Segment:MCU Chips, Lithium Battery Management Chips
Return on Equity:6.89% (Q1 2025)
Concept Association: The company occupies a leading position in the home appliance MCU field, while actively expanding into the industrial control and automotive electronics MCU market, with lithium battery management chips entering the supply chain of first-tier power battery manufacturers.
As the “heart” of the information technology industry, the degree of self-control in semiconductor manufacturing is directly related to the security of the supply chain. With increasing domestic policy support, continuous investment in technological R&D, and the ongoing expansion of downstream application markets, semiconductor manufacturing companies with core technologies and stable capacities will welcome broader development space.
The 10 companies selected in this issue have been deeply engaged in their respective segments for many years, achieving high return on equity through technological accumulation and market expansion, demonstrating strong profitability and risk resistance, and their performance in the process of semiconductor localization is worth continuous attention.
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