Hong Kong stock concept tracking | National AI Industry Investment Fund established. Computing power and storage chips may become key investment directions (with concept stocks)

According to Tianyancha, on January 17th, the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) was established with a capital of 60.06 billion yuan. The enterprise is jointly invested by the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase III Co., Ltd. and Guo Zhi Tou (Shanghai) Private Equity Fund Management Co., Ltd. Huaxin Securities believes that computing chips and storage chips will become key nodes in the industry chain. In addition to continuous investments in semiconductor equipment and materials, the National Large Fund Phase III may also focus on HBM chips as a key investment direction. The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase III was registered on May 24, 2024, with a registered capital of 344 billion yuan, higher than the total of 98.72 billion yuan for Phase I and 204.15 billion yuan for Phase II. Overall, Phase I of the large fund focused on the semiconductor manufacturing field, with a key focus on downstream giants of various major industry chains; Phase II of the large fund focused on semiconductor equipment and materials, with a key focus on upstream industry chains, including film equipment, testing equipment, as well as photoresist, masks, and so on. Phase III of the National Large Fund is aimed at the entire semiconductor industry chain, aiming to guide social capital to increase multi-channel financing support for the semiconductor industry. Industry insiders believe that with the rise of AI technology in recent years, the new investment focus of Phase III of the large fund on segments such as computing chips and storage chips (HBM chips), closely related to the previous "bottleneck" links of semiconductor manufacturing, equipment, materials, and components, may also become new areas of investment focus. It is reported that Guo Zhi Tou's executives registered with the China Securities Investment Fund Association include: legal representative and general manager Li Weigang (formerly served in the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Shanghai Guosheng Group), and deputy general manager Wang Xiaoyu. Experts point out that Phase III of the large fund, as an institution focusing on investment in the integrated circuit industry, has rich industry experience and deep resource accumulation, while Shanghai State-owned Assets represents the investment will and market operation capability of the local government. This cooperation model reflects the synergistic efforts of the national and local governments in promoting the development of strategic emerging industries, jointly helping China's artificial intelligence industry to reach new heights. Recently, A-share semiconductor companies have shown strong performance, with domestic AI computing leader Cambricon's stock price hitting a historical high, with a rise of 387.55% in 2024. From a fundamental perspective, the semiconductor industry has shown a trend of recovery since 2024. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics Organization (WSTS) predicts that global semiconductor sales in 2024 are likely to exceed $600 billion and the industry is expected to maintain a growth rate of over 10% in 2025. Tianfeng indicates that considering the recent subsidies for consumer electronics or the stimulation of local semiconductor demand, China's semiconductor sales in the first quarter of this year are expected to perform better than expected. Sinolink predicts that looking at 2025, AI applications and autonomous controllable systems will continue to drive the upturn in the semiconductor cycle. Applications generated by generative AI are expected to become the mainstream of the AI wave, and the upgrading and innovation of terminal demand for AI smartphones, AIPC, and other products will drive chip demand, thereby continuously increasing the overall semiconductor market size. Related concept stocks: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981): Financial reports show that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's revenue for the third quarter increased by 14% compared to the previous quarter, reaching $2.17 billion (15.609 billion yuan), surpassing the $2 billion mark for the first time in a single quarter and setting a new record high. Goldman Sachs predicts in its latest report that SMIC's revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024 will increase by 1% compared to the previous quarter, reaching $2.2 billion. The report points out that China's integrated circuit production and import volumes significantly increased in October and November last year, indicating signs of industry recovery. HUA HONG SEMI (01347): Financial reports show that HUA HONG SEMI's revenue in the third quarter of 2024 was 3.77 billion yuan, down by 8.24% year-on-year but an increase of 10% compared to the previous quarter; net profit attributable to equity holders was 313 million yuan, representing a 226.62% year-on-year increase. The gross profit margin reached 12.2% in the third quarter, compared to 6.4% and 10.5% in the previous two quarters. Capacity utilization also significantly increased in the third quarter, reaching 105.3%, compared to 86.8% in the same period last year. SHANGHAI FUDAN (01385): The company has four series of products including multi-million-gate FPGA, multi-billion-gate FPGA, multi-billion-gate and PSoC, with several tens of products in total, and has full-process independent intellectual property FPGA supporting EDA tool ProciseTM. As one of the few domestic FPGA suppliers, the company will benefit greatly from the demand volume brought about by the localization of downstream markets, with broad development prospects.