China's top chip tycoon Zhao Weiguo stands accused of corruption

Beijing: In the newest sign of trouble for the country’s semiconductor sector, China’s anti-fraud watchdog has accused chip tycoon Zhao Weiguo of corruption. Zhao has been former CEO of Tsinghua Unigroup, a manufacturer of computer chips. After the government invested billions of dollars in projects that either stalled or failed, prominent players in the industry were under investigation for corruption last year. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection claims that Mr. Zhao “took the state-owned company he managed as his private fiefdom” in a statement. According to the regulator, he gave his friends and family successful businesses to run, and he paid “significantly above market prices” for goods and services from businesses run by his associates. It also states that investigators have been given Mr. Zhao’s case and will bring charges against him. Formerly a division of the esteemed Tsinghua University, where President Xi Jinping studied, is now Tsinghua Unigroup. The state-backed business acquired a number of businesses over the past ten years to become one of China’s top chipmakers. However, under Mr. Zhao’s direction, it accumulated debt and missed several bond payments in 2020. In July of last year, the business finished a 20-month restructuring. This gave a consortium headed by two state-backed venture capital firms control over it. At about that time, Mr. Zhao resigned from his position as Tsinghua Unigroup head. He was reportedly taken from his home by authorities for an investigation, according to Chinese media sources. Other prominent members of the Chinese semiconductor business are also being looked into. As per reports, US and China are embroiled in a bitter trade conflict over semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military hardware. No matter where in the world the chips were produced, Washington declared in October that it would demand licenses from businesses exporting them to China using US equipment or software. The Netherlands announced earlier this month that in order to safeguard national security, it also intended to impose limitations on the export of its “most advanced” microchip technology. In recent years, China has made enormous investments to increase its local chip manufacturing capacity. To lessen its dependence on imports, the nation established a new national $29 billion (£23.7 billion) semiconductor fund in 2019. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.