Former Professor Becomes Billionaire As China Bolsters Its Semiconductor Supply Chain

Liu Jianfang, a erstwhile professor who spent almost 2 decades school astatine China’s Jilin University, is the latest entrepreneur to amass immense wealthiness from the country’s self-reliance drive.

Shares of a semiconductor constituent shaper Liu founded successful 2013 person surged almost 400% from their first nationalist offering value wrong days of the firm’s Shanghai listing connected Tuesday, giving the world a $1.4 cardinal nett worthy based connected his stake, according to Forbes estimates.

Liu, 51, is the president and CEO of Jiangsu Gao Kai Precision Fluid Technology (GK Precision). Headquartered successful Changzhou, a metropolis astir a two-hour thrust from Shanghai, the constituent shaper raised 1.5 cardinal yuan ($224 million) successful precocious August by trading 25 cardinal shares astatine 61.4 yuan apiece, according to a banal speech filing. It intends to usage the proceeds for investigation and development, including the building of a caller investigation halfway successful China. GK Precision didn’t respond to a petition for comment.

The company’s products see travel controllers that are basal successful high-end spot manufacturing. Using precise power systems, these devices measurement and dispense various gases and liquids utilized to make semiconductors. “This marketplace has agelong been dominated by American and Japanese companies,” GK Precision wrote successful its prospectus. “China has a very precocious start.”

Yet arsenic Beijing continues to bolster its home tech proviso concatenation amid fierce rivalry pinch the U.S., Liu’s institution has won customers. GK Precision now sells to firms including BYD, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), according to its prospectus. It competes pinch the likes of American multinational Nordson and Japanese precision instrumentality shaper Horiba, the prospectus shows.

Last year, gross grew complete 20% year-over-year to 510.6 cardinal yuan. Net profit roseate by a 3rd to 132.7 cardinal yuan from a twelvemonth ago, according to its prospectus. When Liu group up the patient much than a decade ago, it initially focused connected trading to sectors specified arsenic autos and electronics. The mogul, who holds a Ph.D. successful mechanics from Jilin University successful northeast China, besides studied mechanical engineering for astir a twelvemonth astatine Japan’s Yamagata University. He returned to China and continued to thatch astatine his alma mater earlier leaving successful 2019 to afloat attraction connected GK Precision.