Bank-affiliated capital makes frequent appearances in semiconductor IPOs

Bank funds have reappeared in the investment field of hard technology.

On June 15, domestic GPU enterprise Suyuan Technology and wafer manufacturing enterprise Yuexin Semiconductor both passed the listing review. According to the analysis by Cailian Press reporters, bank funds can be found behind both of these two enterprises planning to go public.

Among them, Yuexin Semiconductor received direct investment from the financial asset investment companies (AIC) under the Agricultural Bank of China and the China Construction Bank. Suyuan Technology attracted indirect shareholding by funds from the Industrial Bank and China CITIC Bank through private equity funds and other forms.

Since this year, the layout of bank funds in the semiconductor industry chain has significantly accelerated. In April, the AICs under the five major state - owned banks appeared on the shareholder lists of leading memory chip enterprises such as Changxin Technology and YMTC, which attracted wide attention in the market.

The industry believes that against the background of policy encouragement to "invest early, invest in small enterprises, invest for the long - term, and invest in hard technology", bank funds are gradually extending from traditional credit support to comprehensive financial services of "equity + debt", becoming an important incremental force in the semiconductor industry's financing ecosystem.

Bank funds continue to increase investment in the semiconductor track

Judging from the situation of the enterprises that passed the review this time, bank funds have been deeply involved in the growth process of some semiconductor enterprises.

According to the prospectus disclosed by Yuexin Semiconductor, ABC Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. entered the company as early as its first - round financing in 2021 and continued to increase its holdings in the third - round financing in November 2022. As of now, ABC Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. holds 4.09% of the equity of Yuexin Semiconductor and is the sixth - largest shareholder of the company. CCB Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. participated in the third - round financing of Yuexin Semiconductor and currently holds 1.19% of the equity.

In contrast, the support of bank funds for Suyuan Technology is more reflected in indirect investment.

The prospectus shows that Xingyin Wealth Management, a wholly - owned subsidiary of the Industrial Bank, holds 49.40% of the shares in the private equity fund Shanghai Xinji, which holds 0.8749% of the equity of Suyuan Technology. At the same time, Xingye Fortune (a wholly - owned subsidiary of Industrial Fund), a holding company, holds 12.52% of the shares in the private equity fund Wuyuefeng Phase III, which holds 1.7725% of the equity of Suyuan Technology.

Data from Tianyancha shows that both private equity funds are under Wuyuefeng Capital and participated in the Series B financing of Suyuan Technology as early as 2020.

In addition, a private equity company established by CITIC Bank (Hong Kong) Investment Co., Ltd. holds 3.24% of the shares in Wuyuefeng Phase III as a partner, thus indirectly participating in the investment in Suyuan Technology. CITIC Bank (Hong Kong) Investment Co., Ltd. is an overseas investment banking platform under China CITIC Bank and is its wholly - owned subsidiary.

Industry insiders believe that from GPUs, memory chips to wafer manufacturing, the layout of bank - affiliated capital has covered multiple key links in the semiconductor industry chain, indicating that financial institutions are optimistic about the long - term growth potential of domestic substitution and advanced manufacturing industries.

A research analyst from a securities firm who has long been concerned about the semiconductor industry told Cailian Press reporters that the domestic semiconductor industry has now entered a stage of "capital - intensive + technology - intensive". Relying solely on venture capital is difficult to meet the long - term capital needs of enterprises. Bank system funds have a large scale and low capital cost. Their entry into the equity investment field helps to relieve the financing pressure of the industry and is also conducive to promoting the transformation of scientific and technological innovation achievements.

Leverage the "investment - loan linkage" effect in the banking industry

The frequent appearance of bank funds behind semiconductor enterprises is closely related to the expansion of the AIC equity investment pilot in recent years.

In April this year, at the Second AIC Equity Investment Seminar, Feng Junfu, the chairman of ICBC Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd., revealed that as of the end of 2025, the intended signing amount of the national AIC equity investment pilot had exceeded 380 billion yuan, and the new equity investment scale in 2025 was close to 100 billion yuan, accounting for about 10% of the national new equity investment scale.

Local governments are also continuously promoting the implementation of relevant businesses.

Data disclosed by the Sichuan Financial Regulatory Bureau in April this year showed that currently, there are 10 planned AIC equity investment funds in the province, 9 of which have been launched with a scale of 8 billion yuan, covering all five pilot AIC institutions. At the same time, large - scale banks in the jurisdiction provided 418 million yuan in financing support to enterprises through models such as "loan first, then investment" and "investment first, then loan", effectively leveraging the role of equity investment funds.

Data from the Guangdong Financial Regulatory Bureau showed that as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the AICs in the jurisdiction had accumulated project investments of 2.975 billion yuan, driving nearly 6 billion yuan in deposit precipitation and more than 1.5 billion yuan in loan disbursements, forming a relatively obvious investment - loan linkage effect.

Industry analysts pointed out that the unique advantage of AICs lies in their ability to break through the barriers between traditional bank credit business and equity investment. On the one hand, they can share the growth dividends of enterprises through equity investment; on the other hand, they can provide enterprises with comprehensive services such as credit, settlement, and supply - chain finance by leveraging the resources of the bank system, forming a collaborative model of "equity investment + debt financing".

Especially in industries with high technological thresholds and long R & D cycles, such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and new energy, AICs are expected to become an important force in cultivating "patient capital".

Banks still face challenges in technology investment

However, while banks are accelerating their layout in technology investment, the relevant business still faces many practical challenges.

Cailian Press reporters noticed that a recent report by China International Capital Corporation pointed out that there is still a problem of insufficient investment research ability construction in the AIC equity investment business carried out by current commercial banks. Traditional bank risk management mainly focuses on enterprises' solvency, cash flow, and credit qualifications, while equity investment in technology enterprises emphasizes more on technology route judgment, industry trend research, and business model verification. There are obvious differences between the two ability systems.

At the same time, the matching problem between the assessment mechanism and business characteristics has also attracted attention. China International Capital Corporation believes that according to industry rules, technology enterprises such as semiconductor companies often take 5 to 7 years or even longer to enter the mature harvest period, while commercial banks generally use annual or quarterly performance assessment cycles. There is a certain contradiction between short - term performance pressure and long - term investment logic.

In addition, industry insiders believe that the future development of AIC equity investment business still depends on the further improvement of regulatory policies, including capital occupancy recognition, risk weight arrangement, tax support, and the construction of equity exit channels. As the relevant systems continue to be optimized, the space for bank funds to participate in scientific and technological innovation is expected to be further expanded.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Kechuang Daily", author: Zou Juntao. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.