KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): Key ASIC Bhd, which provides application-specific integrated circuit/system-on-chip (SoC) design services for fabless design and system companies, has teamed up with China's Shaoxing government, Cheerplan (China) Investments Co Ltd and Jiaoyang Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Co Ltd to jointly develop a digital economy park in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, China.

In a bourse filing on Tuesday (March 8), Key ASIC said it had on March 5 signed a strategic framework partnership agreement with the Shaoxing government, Cheerplan and Jiaoyang for the purpose of forming a joint venture (JV) company to develop the park.

"The JV company’s primary focus is to develop and manage the park by attracting the targeted chip or semiconductor related companies to set up in the park," it added.

Key ASIC will also be involved in the development of offices for the technology companies, residential housing for foreign talents and the local professionals, hotels, shopping malls, shops, an international school and a hospital in the park.

It added that the financial effects can only be determined after entering into the JV agreement.

Shaoxing is a city with over 5 million population and it is a city within the rich province of Zhejiang in China, with a gross domestic product of RMB450 billion.

In a separate statement, Key ASIC said in addition to the existing technology companies in the park, the JV company is to elevate the development of the park to be the next generation of Silicon Valley based on semiconductor material manufacturing, test and packaging for chips, semiconductor foundries, fabless chip design companies, and industrial application specific hardware and software companies with the objective to develop complete value chains for specific applications in target industries. "The industries to be digitalised in this park are automotive, healthcare, renewable energy and communication based on silicon photonics."

The park spans 5,000 acres of land, with the target to secure two 12-inch 28nm fabs, one 8-inch fab, one semiconductor test and packaging service company, industrial application software companies including electronic design automation, research and certification labs, at least 100 fabless chip design companies and related technology system manufacturers.

"The park will take primary focus in developing the entire value chains for automotive, healthcare and renewable energy sectors ranging from design and production of chips, modules and systems. Currently there are two semiconductor fabs and some chip design companies in Shaoxing," said Key ASIC.

“We are in the process of finalising the detail of the accelerator including the licensing of the SoC intellectual property and the governmental support to be provided through the accelerator,” said Key ASIC chairman and chief executive officer Eg Kah Yee.

Key ASIC shares closed unchanged at 6 sen on Tuesday, bringing the company a market capitalisation of RM81.79 million.