While China technically hosts 400-500 IC design firms - more than Silicon Valley or Hsinchu Science Park, the world's two largest IC design centers - a closer inspection of the list of players shows that around half of these firms are in fact China subsidiaries of international companies, while many others are purely technological research organizations. The real number of homegrown IC design firms in China is therefore no greater than 100 at most.
Chart 1: Y/Y growth in revenues for the China IC design industry surpasses 30%
Chart 2: Number of IC design firms in China only increased slightly in 2011
Diverse industry with varied backgrounds and multiple regions
Chart 4: China is already a third global center for IC design
Chart 5: Silicon Valley is home to most of the most important IC design firms
External factors are more important than internal factors for growth
Chart 7: A more complete semiconductor industry chain will benefit China's IC design firms
External factors prove more important than internal advantages
Chart 8: Domestic handset market is primary growth driver for China IC design industry
Chart 9: Trends in new products and markets for the China IC design industry
Chart 10: Reasons why China IC design industry will struggle to break into TV chip market
China IC design firms' penchant for copying makes IP disputes likely
Chart 11: Potential challenges facing the China IC design industry
Are government policies and corporate groups helping or hindering IC design industry?
Overseas assistance will decline if market opportunities contract
Table 2: Taiwan-based players tend to move en masse into the latest growth sector
Chart 12: Evaluation of China IC design industry in terms of 5 areas of operational capability
Chart 13: Three factors have led China-based IC design firms to move into 3 main categories of IC
Table 3: China top-1 to 13 ranked IC design companies, 2011 (CNY100 million)
Chart 15: China top-25 ranked IC design companies: Revenue growth in 2011
Table 4: China top-14 to 25 ranked IC design companies, 2011 (CNY100 million)
Table 6: China IC designers - Established years, headquarters
Chart 16: China Top-25 IC design houses - Six post sales decreases in 2011
Chart 18: Nationz 3Q revenue performance over past three years
Chart 19: China IC design industry development - Three major trends
Chart 20: China video surveillance market revenue size, 2010-11 (US$b)
Taiwan success: A development model for China IC design industry
