Tsinghua Unigroup default tests China's chipmaking ambitions

Money-losing company faces more repayment deadlines ahead

20201117N Tsinghua Unigroup

Tsinghua Unigroup exhibits at the 23rd China Beijing International High-tech Expo in September.  © Getty Images

YUSHO CHO, Nikkei staff writer

SHANGHAI -- A financial crisis at leading Chinese chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup threatens to slow the progress of President Xi Jinping's campaign to bolster the country's semiconductor industry in its growing tech rivalry with the U.S.

Tsinghua Unigroup failed to meet its Sunday deadline to repay a 2017 private debt issuance worth 1.3 billion yuan ($198 million).

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