HC Semitek subsidiary in Suzhou’s, high power epiwafer LED chip and commercialization project received RMB 6 million (US $940,000) subsidy out of a total grant of RMB 10 million.

San’an Opto announced recently its subsidiary in Fujian Province, China has received RMB 170 million (US $) subsidy from Anxi County Finance Bureau to invest in LED R&D, according to a report from Quamnet.

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:

HC Semitek announced its arm in 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.

San’an Opto is expected to fully benefit from the growing LED market value, according to a report from China Finance Media.

San’an Opto was granted RMB 230 million (US $37.11 million) subsidy by Torch Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone Committee for 50 MOCVDs the company recently purchased, according to a news report from China Securities Journal.

Refond Optoelectronics announced that the company had received RMB 4 million (US $647,708) subsidy from China’s Ministry of Finance on December 16.

Two Chinese men sentenced for swindled RMB 220,000 (US$ 35, 506) worth of state energy subsidy by faking LED lamps clients purchase records and forging public seals in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province of China, according to a news report from Straits Herald.

HC SemiTek Corporation announced on July 1, 2014, that its wholly-owned subsidy HC SemiTek (Suzhou) has been granted an industry development subsidy of RMB 27.50 (US $4.4 million) by the Administrative Commission of Zhangjiagang Economic Technology Development Zone.  

San’an Opto announced recently subsidiary Fujian Jingan Optoelectronics RMB 11.58 million (US$ 1.86 million) subsidy application was approved by Anxi County Bureau of Finance in China. The subsidiary has received the full sum of the subsidy.

Aucksun Jiangsu Co. announced recently that People’s Government of Qinghe District, Huai’an has granted a RMB 15 million (US $2.4 billion) technology subsidy to the company’s subsidiary Huai’an Optoelectronics (Huai’an Opto) . The subsidy is related to importing MOCVDs and associated equipment. 

The advanced technology of LED chip and package manufacturers as well as the declined market price has allowed LED lighting applications to be more diverse, and LED based-plant factories have also become the target market of global first-tier LED manufacturers. In fact, the idea of growing plants with electric lights has already been proposed in 1950 and implemented in 1970 (using traditional lighting products). Their goal was to grow high quality crops throughout the year and avoid damage caused by natural conditions and the excessive use of pesticides.

LED lighting applied to plant factories is not a new concept. 2-3 years ago, international first-tier manufacturers Philips and OSRAM started to invest in plant factories that are equipped with LED lighting and excellent environmental control, and Japan has also been developing this business for quite some time. LEDinside indicated that since public and commercial LED lighting are becoming more mature, plant factories may become the next target of LED lighting manufacturers from Europe, the US, Japan, and Taiwan. Viewing the success of this business as a political achievement, the Chinese government has greatly encouraged LED manufacturers to invest in plant factories.

The national government provides financial support to manufacturers and consumers to help enhance the sector’s competitiveness. China continues to push its LED program to boost the energy conservation campaign while strengthening manufacturing technology and domestic lighting market share. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Council of China has released two detailed subsidy policies. The guidelines take off from the 12th Five-Year specialized and development plans respectively for the semiconductor illumination and the energy-saving and environmenta...