There was little fanfare when the private Chinese company NavTech bought Silex Microsystems in 2015, acquiring the Swedish company’s mastery of manufacturing accelerometers, gyroscopes and other microscopic sensors.
NavTech, which specialises in navigation technology for aviation, satellites and defence, announced shortly afterwards that it would build a $300m plant in Beijing “relying on Silex’s technology” in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), the components embedded in chips that are increasingly central to everything from mobile phones and medical devices to self-driving cars.
But the acquisition of Silex, through a chain of investment holding companies, involved Chinese state-controlled funds. The new plant is located in a state-run industrial park, and has been backed by a state-run semiconductors fund, the Beijing Integrated Circuits fund.