Unigroup and XMC combine their chip assets

Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd merged its memory chipmaking operations with Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp's, creating one of the country's largest manufacturers of semiconductors.

The company is folding XMC into its growing portfolio of assets and consolidating their combined production capacity, Unigroup's billionaire Chairman Zhao Weiguo said via e-mail. The newly merged entity is called Changjiang Storage Co with Zhao as chairman.

Unigroup, an affiliate of the prestigious Tsinghua University, harbors ambitions of becoming a global player in semiconductors. It has pursued deals around the globe as the standard-bearer of China's effort to build a local industry giant and wean the country off foreign technology. Its core business of semiconductors is seen by the nation's leadership as vital to national security.