CEO of Slkor and Kinghelm Sang Shiqiang‘s Interpretation of the “Domestic Substitution“ of the Electronic Information Industry

The progress of society is promoted by one round after another technological progress (that is, the development of productive forces), which promotes the revolution of production relation and the development of social economy, and we calls it "the Kondratiev Circle (the economic cyclical theory put forward by the Russian economist Kondratiev in 1926)". According to the Kondratiev Circle theory model, each cycle is divided into four stages: upturn, boom, recession and depression. It’s the same principle as the "spring, summer, autumn and winter" of a year, as well as the four strokes "suction, pressure, combustion, and exhaust" of fuel car engine. In the perspective of Professor Li Kongyue of Sun Yat-sen University, the current year 2022 is at the alternating period between the terminal recession and the new economic recovery cycle. Sang Shiqiang, general manager of Kinghelm and SLKOR, believes that according to the characteristics of Kondratiev Circle combined with the electronic information industry, there is still something to be done at this stage. Plus the periodicity of the electronics industry and the commercial characteristics of Huaqiangbei, I found out some rules. Take advantage of the large market and small circulation in China, the "domestic substitution" of electronic components and electronic information products is really a good opportunity.

Fig.1 Qiu Huilin and Sang Shiqiang of Slkor

Sang Shiqiang, general manager of Kinghelm and Slkor, says for the great rejuvenation of our Chinese nation, Kinghelm has to make good use of the chance of the upcoming new round of "Kondratiev Circle", and promote the economic development of the electronic information industry, because the “autonomous control” of the key technology is very important. Shenzhen Kinghelm Electronics Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Slkormicro Semicon Co., Ltd. both belong to the electronic information industry, Kinghelm’s Beidou GPS antenna connector products as well as Slkor’s power semiconductor devices, power management chip and other electronic components keep up with China’s development, so the "domestic substitution" is timely. At present, China shall invest in and adhere to its domestic substitution strategy for a long time in the high-tech fields, such as high-end semiconductor IC, industrial software, high-end machine tool equipment, computer operating system, IC architecture IP core, EDA software and so on.

Fig.2 Kinghelm's antenna RF connector products

China's complete industrial chain has been deeply rooted in the middle and low-end manufacturing sector, forming a tight firewall. According to the macroeconomic data, "Made in China" has manufactured the largest number of terminal electronic products in the world, and its output of smart phones, computers and home appliances is the world's first. For example, among the world's top five mobile phone manufacturers, China accounts for 3 seats. If the United States hadn’t cut off Huawei's chip supply, Huawei would have a chance to surpass Samsung and rank the first. The huge production and processing capacity as well as the consumption have spawned a strong demand for upstream semiconductors and other components. Every year China imports more than 400 billion dollars electronic components from abroad, which exceeds the amount of China’s importation of petroleum oil. As you can see, the domestic brand will account for a larger and larger proportion, which is not only our opportunity of domestic substitution of electronic information industry chain enterprises and products, but also a development stage task for Kinghelm (www.kinghelm.net) and Slkor (www.slkoric.com) in recent years.

Kinghelm can also see that China's advantage in the automobile supply chain and manufacturing is obvious, China has become the first in the global production and export, the total number and sales of new energy vehicles in China is also the world's first. China has sold more than 7 million new energy vehicles in 2022, and according to the market size and development trend, China will sell 15 million by 2025. In addition, half of Tesla's production capacity and sales are completed in China. Automobile production belongs to discrete manufacturing, which requires very high industry chain, and it’s also the competitive advantage that our country has accumulated in recent years. Kinghelm is also world-leading in these fields, like high-speed rail manufacturing, solar photovoltaics, UHV power transmission and batteries for new energy sources, and the recent large aircraft C919 is also progressing well.

However, as the population dividend gradually fades and the competition of the global industrial division system deepens, China is also comprehensively transforming and upgrading its manufacturing industry. Therefore, it is necessary to march into the high-end technology field such as semiconductor chip and EDA software, although there are various obstacles and challenges in front of it. In terms of high-end chips, China is currently under the control of others, China's overall strength in semiconductor industry is still at the mid-to-low level, and Kinghelm has a long way to make much progress in high-end field. In spite of the big gap, Kinghelm have made technological breakthrough step by step, domestic substitution is also advancing step by step, and this step-by-step "destructive innovation" will eventually help us turn the defeat into victory!

Fig.3 Kinghelm's antenna RF jumper products

A more important cornerstone for China's "domestic substitution" is that China has the world's largest consumer market. Now China's semiconductor market size exceeds 1 trillion RMB, accounting for 34% of the global market, ahead of the United States (27%), and significantly ahead of Europe, Japan and South Korea. Kinghelm (www.kinghelm.net) has been learning from many foreign enterprises, such as Amphenol, Tyco, Molex, Hirose, LUXSHAREICT, Yasaki, JAE and the domestic enterprises, such as Guizhou Aerospace Electrical Appliances, Yonggui Electrical Appliances, Hexing Group, Shaanxi Huada Technology, Shenzhen Tongmao Electronics, Suzhou Ruikeda, Yihua Shares, Xinwei Communication, Rihai Communication, Wutong Holding, and Huaxin Antenna. Kinghelm's factory has fully automatic production line, cable assembly machine, automatic wire-cutting machine, terminal machine, dispenser, cable assembly machine, full-wave anechoic room, network analyzer and other equipment, which are capable of the debugging of high and low temperature, double 85 test and intelligent hardware antenna signal. With strict management, Kinghelm's professional team can complete mass product delivery on time with quality and quantity guaranteed. The products" of Kinghelm are applied to many fields such as high-speed railway, new energy vehicle, wireless intelligent terminal, IoT, IoV, smart city, smart home, industrial equipment, industrial Internet, scientific research, military and national defense and other fields. 

Mr. Sang further said that according to the data statistics of Omdia, China's power semiconductor market size will reach $16.8 billion in 2022, and it’s expected to reach $19 billion in 2024. However, the current global power semiconductor market is mainly dominated by Infineon, Onsemi, STMicroelectronics, Fuji Electric, Mitsubishi and other foreign manufacturers, and only Nexperia in China is shortlisted. The domestic rate of power semiconductor of China is still at the low level and there is a wide market for domestic substitution. Therefore, Slkor will also achieve great progress and development, and strive for a part of the market share in the tide of domestic substitution of electronic components.

Fig.4 The TVS and ESD diodes of Slkor

Qiu Huilin, sales director of Slkor, added that the business world is often faced with a soul-searching question: how can an industry and a business flourish and thrive? I think the most fundamental driving force is the market demand. To be clear, as long as the market is large enough and the demand is diversified, there is nothing that can’t be broken through. This is the underlying logic of China's domestic substitution of semiconductor. In business, the pursuit of profit is the driving force for continuous breakthroughs in the industry, and China's huge market demand means fat profit. At present, the strength of China's semiconductor companies can not be compared with the West, but there is sufficient power to explore forward, and the future in China is extremely bright despite the process of ups and downs. In many fields of science and technology, China has been groping for breakthroughs in the face of Western barriers. Semiconductor field is an industry that needs the support of huge basic scale and talents. From the basic education and basic research to commercialization and industrialization, every step will be very difficult and long. But hasn't every industrial breakthrough in new China come from enduring lots of difficulties and hardships? After the efforts from generation to generation, China's semiconductor industry has gradually made great achievements. More and more products of Chinese semiconductor companies have come out of the laboratory and been accepted by the Chinese people, which is the witness of the growth of China's semiconductor industry. This also means China's semiconductor industry is increasingly forming a strong circular ecology. For investment, a commercial closed-loop of this industry will continue to be strengthened and its future growth will be more and more certain under the huge Chinese and global consumer market.

Fig.5 Slkor's certifications and awards

Kinghelm sees the chances of domestic substitution and the strengthening of the Chinese semiconductor industry. Kinghelm is determined to make contributions to China’s semiconductor industry. With an elite team graduated from Beijing Tsinghua University and Soul Yonsei University, Shenzhen SlkorMicro Semicon Co., Ltd. is dedicated to the third generation semiconductor SiC power devices. We are strong on the relevant methodologies: new materials, new technologies and new products. Kinghelm products cover discrete devices and ICs, diodes, transistors, power devices, and power management chips, which can replace the products of Infineon, Onsemi, ST, Fuji, Mitsubishi, CREE and other brands. Qiu Huilin said he hopes Slkor(www.slkoric.com) will accelerate and realize its vision of becoming the leader of China’s semiconductor industry under the leadership of Mr. Sang Shiqiang.

Brief Introduction of Mr. Sang Shiqiang

Apart from CEO of Shenzhen SlkorMicro and Kinghelm, Mr. Sang Shiqiang is currently holds a few important social positions: private economic researcher of the Economic Development Center of the China State Council, member of the electronic information expert database of China Association for Science and Technology, commercial research expert of Huaqiangbei Alliance.

Prior to invest and to manage Shenzhen SlkorMicro Semicon Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Kinghelm Electronics Co., Ltd., Mr. Song was the former CEO of an international real estate listed company. 

Mr. Song is working hard on building the Slkor and Kinghelm brands. Both Slkor and Kinghel are Chinese national high-tech companies and have obtained dozens of invention patents and software copyrights. Slkor is one of the fastest-growing semiconductor companies in China, and its vision is to become the leader of the domestic semiconductor industry.

"Kinghelm Connecting Beidou" is the slogan of Kinghelm company. Starts from the development of Beidou antenna, Kinghelm has now developed and produced microwave antenna, RF cables and electrical signal connector and other products, embracing the intelligent era for Internet of Everything.  Mr. Song has a wide reputation and influence in the Chinese semiconductor, Beidou positioning and navigation industry. As one of the renowned business leaders in Huaqiangbei Commercial Area of Shenzhen, Mr. Song is paying his best efforts to improve the business environment, hoping that Huaqiangbei will become a catalyst for reform and opening of  Shenzhen economic development.

Fig.6 Kinghelm's signal connectors and other products