GRITEK to List on Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market, Raising $156.9 Million

On Tuesday, the Shanghai Stock Exchange officially accepted the application of Grinm Semiconductor Materials Co,. Ltd. (GRITEK) for listing on theShanghai Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market).

GRITEK is mainly engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of semiconductor silicon materials. Its main products include semiconductor silicon polished wafers and silicon materials for etching equipment.

The company originated as the Semiconductor Silicon Materials Research Office of Grinm Group (formerly Beijing General Institute of Nonferrous Metals), and began the research of semiconductor silicon materials in the 1950s. It is one of the earliest institutions engaged in the R&D of semiconductor silicon materials in China.

At present, GRITEK leads the country in the industrialization of 6-inch and 8-inch silicon wafers and the technological breakthrough of 12-inch silicon wafers, and has participated in the production of silicon materials for integrated circuit etching equipment since 2005. The company has been recognized by leading semiconductor enterprises globally, and has maintained long-term and stable relations with major chip and etching equipment manufacturing enterprises such as China Resources Microelectronics, Hangzhou Silan, Jilin Sino-Microelectronics and SMIC.

GRITEK plans to raise 1 billion yuan ($156.9 million) this time, of which 385 million yuan will be used for the expansion of its 8-inch silicon wafer project for integrated circuits; 357 million yuan will be used for its silicon material project for integrated circuit etching equipment; and 258 million yuan will be used to supplement R&D and working capital.

GRITEK also pointed out that the rapid development of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, automotive electronics and blockchain, means that the semiconductor industry has entered a new upward cycle, and that the demand for semiconductor materials all over the world is increasing. According to its existing business, the company needs to expand its product line and increase its production capacity to meet the market demand.

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At present, the top five semiconductor silicon wafer manufacturers in the world occupy about 90% of the market share, while Chinese semiconductor silicon wafer manufacturers only represent  a small percentage of the market share. Although GRITEK is a leading semiconductor silicon wafer enterprise in China, it does not have the same production and marketing scale as leading enterprises based in other countries. Further, due to its late start and weak supply chain compared with leading foreign enterprises, the company’s profitability isn’t as much as it could be if it had a larger enterprise. The IPO will help the company expand its market share.

Among the company’s products, the 8-inch silicon wafer is one of the main offerings of GRITEK at present. After the completion of this IPO, the annual production capacity of 1.2 million 8-inch silicon wafer products will be increased.

Silicon material for integrated circuit etching equipment is also one of the main products of the company currently. The construction includes plants and automatic production and testing equipment. In the future, 204,000 kilograms of silicon materials will be able to be added annually.