On October 19, the Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone officially signed an agreement with Xiyue Semiconductor (Beijing) Co., Ltd. The landed project is an "Ultra-High Voltage Power Semiconductor Device Production Project" with a total investment of CNY 558 million. According to the announcement schedule, the project has allocated only a 10-month construction period for itself, planning to commence production in November 2027. In this round of capacity expansion in the power semiconductor industry, CNY 558 million is not a massive investment, but the combination of "Beijing-based company + factory in Inner Mongolia + ultra-high voltage track" is worth a closer look by the chip industry.
What Exactly is the Signed Project: Four Hard Metrics
Breaking down the announcement, the project profile can be outlined with four figures.
CNY 558 million — the total investment, but the funds are primarily not spent on civil engineering. The announcement specifies that the implementation content is "modular cleanroom package renovation and production equipment procurement and commissioning": no new factory buildings will be constructed; instead, standardized cleanrooms will be directly assembled on existing facilities in the park, with capital expenditure focused on the equipment side. This is a typical asset-light and fast-start approach.
10 months — from signing to completion, with a reverse schedule targeting production commencement in November 2027. Compared to the construction cycle of a 12-inch wafer fab, which often takes over two years, this production line follows a rapid and agile route of "mature process + outsourced equipment + rapid commissioning," which aligns with the engineering characteristics of discrete device production lines.
Two-stage product roadmap — initially producing and selling consumer and industrial power chips, then gradually advancing the R&D and mass production of high-end ultra-high voltage power devices, while simultaneously providing advanced packaging supporting services externally. First running through mature medium- and low-voltage products to sustain the production line, and then attacking higher voltage levels, is the standard move for yield ramp-up in a new factory. It also indicates that "ultra-high voltage" is currently more of a technical direction rather than an immediate source of revenue.
CNY 200-250 million and approximately 140 people — the annual output value and employment scale after reaching full production capacity. Calculated based on the median annual output value of CNY 225 million, this equates to about 40% of the investment amount flowing back as revenue each year, which is considered steady under industrial metrics; however, note that the announcement's metric is "after fully reaching production capacity and effectiveness." Commencing production does not equal full production, and the ramp-up period still lies ahead.
Who is Xiyue Semiconductor: Young and Low-Key
Public information is limited. The company name indicates it is registered in Beijing, with business covering IC (Integrated Circuit) chip design and semiconductor discrete device R&D, supplying power chips to the NEV (New Energy Vehicle) industry. SEMI Semiconductor Industry Network reported that Xiyue Semiconductor was founded in 2025 — if true, this means a company established for only about a year has launched a manufacturing project of over CNY 500 million, crossing from the design side to building its own production line. As of press time, the author has not found detailed public information on the company's registered capital, shareholder structure, patent portfolio, and core team. Regarding the background of its technical team and order reserves, readers are advised to refer to the company's subsequent disclosures; no inferences are made in this article.
There was already groundwork laid before the signing: on August 30, the Economic and Technological Development Zone held a symposium with Xiyue Semiconductor, with the agenda focusing on the industrialization of ultra-high voltage power devices, industrial synergy, and project implementation. It took about 7 weeks from the first contact to the official signing. The pace of advancement itself reveals the urgency of local investment promotion and the firmness of the enterprise's site selection.
Why Power Semiconductors are "Heading North"
A Beijing-based R&D company chose Hohhot for its manufacturing base. This article analyzes the decision based on three main logics.
First, sensitivity to electricity costs. Power device production lines are intensive in high-temperature processes (diffusion, oxidation, annealing, etc.), and electricity prices carry considerable weight in manufacturing costs. Inner Mongolia's energy endowment brings stable expectations of low electricity prices, which is a tangible cost factor for the manufacturing end.
Second, proximity to application sites. The end-users of ultra-high voltage power devices are the power grid and new energy sectors — flexible HVDC transmission, wind power conversion, and photovoltaic inversion. Inner Mongolia is precisely a gathering area for large-scale wind and solar bases and UHV (Ultra-High Voltage) power transmission channels. Placing the production line in the application hinterland not only shortens the service radius but also facilitates integration into the local complete machine ecosystem.
Third, the model upgrade of the park's "building nests to attract phoenixes". It can be deduced from the "modular cleanroom package renovation" that the Economic and Technological Development Zone has prepared standardized industrial carriers that can be rented and modified immediately. Local investment promotion is shifting from simply offering policy incentives to delivering turnkey conditions of "factory building + supporting facilities + scenarios" — which is also the prerequisite for the project to compress the construction period to 10 months.
Conclusion
This project is not large in scale, but it is a miniature slice for observing the industrial division of labor in China's power semiconductor industry: design in Beijing and Tianjin, manufacturing heading north along with energy costs and application scenarios, and new players in emerging tracks entering the market quickly in an asset-light manner. The real test will come after the end of 2027 — the pace of equipment delivery, the yield ramp-up curve, and the ability of "ultra-high voltage" to move from product brochures to power grid orders. Only then will this young company face its first major test.
Source: Comprehensive network reports