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Using intense lasers or particle beams, these machines carve intricate patterns that form the basis of modern electronics and enable the fast evolution of AI. Spurred by rising demand for imaging tools, one of China’s leading makers of lithography equipment for the semiconductor industry is seeking to list on the Hong Kong stock market, bringing international ambitions and an interesting back story. In China’s semiconductor equipment industry, founders typically come from technical backgrounds. But Circuit Fabology Microelectronics Equipment Co. Ltd. (688630.SH) was set up by a former accountant turned entrepreneur, who came into the lithography business by chance.
Cheng Zhuo began her career as an accountant at an Anhui machinery factory after graduating from a vocational school. When the factory shut down in the 1990s, she entered the auction business and later moved into bulk commodity trading.