Technology giant bets on its leadership

Tsinghua Holdings Co, a State-owned technology conglomerate, will spend 50 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) on research and development over the next five years in the hope of outperforming its global counterparts in high-tech products, the company chairman said.

"Our goal is not to catch up but to take the lead in industries of national strategic importance," Xu Jinghong, the chairman, said.

The move is part of a broad strategy by the parent company of the Chinese mainland's largest chipmaker to build up a presence in integrated circuits, biotechnology, security inspection equipment and other industries.

Tsinghua Holdings is a spinoff of China's prestigious Tsinghua University. But compared with its foreign peers, the Beijing-based company has a stunning size－it controls 10 public companies.

Xu said the new funds will be channeled into semiconductors, new energy, new materials, biotechnology and other industries.

Tsinghua Holdings will also set up a separate 10 billion-yuan fund to accelerate the commercial applications of at least 50 state-of-the-art technologies, such as 3-D printing.

Last year, its R&D spending exceeded 6 billion yuan, about 9 percent of its revenue.

Roger Sheng, a senior analyst at research firm Gartner Inc, said Tsinghua Unigroup, the chipmaking unit of Tsinghua Holdings, is spearheading China's efforts to reduce reliance on foreign technology.

"Tsinghua Unigroup has poured in tons of dollars to invest in a list of domestic and foreign semiconductor companies as long as your arm," Sheng said. "But the challenge lies in how to integrate the resources it has acquired."