The Chinese LED industry is very familiar with subsidies, the country’s government has offered financial support to local companies since 2009. Subsidies issued by the central government over the last six years has spurred the explosive growth witnessed in the country’s LED industry. LED enterprises all want a share in government subsidies. Listed companies in particular often covet subsidies to give their financial performance a facelift. LEDinside editor Flora Wu has ranked manufacturers that have received the most subsidies in 2015 in the following order below:

San’an Opto clinches top spot with RMB 170 million subsidy

San’an Opto tops the list with a staggering RMB 170 million (US $27.38 million) in total for first half of 2015. After signing an “Investment Agreement” with the Xiamen government in Southern China, the company was awarded RMB 150 million subsidy on March 31, 2015. The company’s subsidiary Jichen San’an Opto has acquired the R&D subsidy for IC R&D and mass production projects.

On the same day, the company’s subsidy Fujian San’an Opto announced it received RMB 20 million subsidy for its first phase sapphire substrate mass production project on March 30, 2015. The company was notified by Quanzhou’s National Agricultural and Science Park.

ETI ranks in second with RMB 70.6 million subsidy

ETI announced its wholly owned subsidiary Dalian ETI received “Flip chip LED and CSP” subsidy worth RMB 50 million from Dalian Jinzhou New District Technology Bureau on July 2, 2015. The subsidy will be listed as the company’s second phase manufacturing fund project for 2015. Another subsidy  Bengbu Sanyi Semiconductor (蚌埠三颐半导体) received RMB 20 million subsidy from Benbu High Technology and Industrial Zone Bureau for advanced technology R&D. The subsidy will be used in Bengbu Sanyi Semiconductor first phase R&D.

HC Semitek in third place with RMB 55.10 million subsidy

HC Semitek announced on February 13, 2015, its wholly owned subsidiary HC Semitek (Suzhou) received RMB 49.60 million (US $7.94 million) worth of LED equipment subsidies from Zhangjiagang Economic and Technological Development Zone’s management committee.

A month earlier, the subsidiary received a RMB 5.5 million industry development subsidy from the same government committee.

Auckson Opto finishes fourth with RMB 35 million subsidy

Auckson Opto announced on June 11, it received RMB 35 million technology R&D subsidy from Hui’an Qinghe District government.

Changelight’s places in fifth with RMB 32.32 million subsidy

Changelight announced on May 8, 2015 it had received a RMB 21.55 million subsidy from Xiamen Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone management committee.

The committee issued another RMB 10.78 million subsidy to Changelight on July 1, 2015. The MOCVD subsidy for AlInGaN LED epiwafer production is based on an earlier “investment agreement” the company signed with the committee.

Nata Opto-electronic Material ‘s takes sixth place with RMB 24.39 million subsidy

Nata Opto announced on Jan. 7, the company’s “Large scale IC manufacturing equipment and processing project,” received RMB 24.39 million for “the R&D of high purity arsine, phosphine and other special gases.” The project is part of China’s National Science and Technology Major Project, and the company established the department responsible for the project in 2013.

In seventh spot, Ledman Optoelectronic’s RMB 4 million subsidy

Ledman Opto announced on Feb. 2, 2015 it had received RMB 4 million subsidy from an agreement it previously signed with The Science Technology and Innovation Committee of Shenzhen. The company received RMB 2 million subsidies, and the remaining RMB 2 million was allocated to the collaborating government agency for the project. The government finances amounted to 11.47% of the company’s shareholders net profit for the fiscal year of 2015.

Other notable subsidy recipients:

In June 2015, MLS, Huayi Lighting, Heshan Tsinghua Tongfang Lighting, Guangdong Xinxiang, Shenzhen June’s Automation and other LED related industries each received RMB 3 million from Guangdong Provincial Department of Science Advanced Technology Innovation Technology Fund. 

(Author: Flora Wu, Editor, LEDinside China/ Translator: Judy Lin, Chief Editor, LEDinside)