Electronics manufacturer TCL Corporation and Chinese state-backed fabless semiconductor maker Tsinghua Unigroup are jointly forming a RMB10bn ($1.53bn) investment fund, China Money Network reported today, citing a disclosure document.
TCL Capital, which acts as TCL’s corporate venturing unit, has provided approximately $138m for the fund, as has a subsidiary of Tsinghua Unigroup.
The fund could be topped up through external investors depending on its investment plans, and may choose to take direct external investment, establish subsidiary funds or get more capital from its founding partners.
The fund, which has not yet been named, will invest in the electronics, technology, media and telecoms (TMT), smart manufacturing and internet+ industries.
TCL Capital was founded in 2009 but has not been active in terms of direct investments and operates mostly as a fund manager.
Tsinghua Unigroup is controlled by Tsinghua Holdings, the state-owned conglomerate that is funded by Tsinghua University. It stated in November 2015 that it planned to invest some $47bn over the next five years in a bid to become one of the world’s three largest semiconductor producers.