SAIC establishes automobile chip fund with Shanghai Research Institute

January 27, 2022 Shanghai (Reuters) - SAIC Motor Group will establish a multi-billion yuan fund with the Shanghai Institute of Industrial Technology (SITRI) to promote research and production of automotive microchips. China's state-owned automaker said in its official WeChat account that the fund is also considering investing in start-ups for automotive electronics and will later be open to external funds. Although China is the world's largest automotive market, it relies primarily on imports of automotive chips, and local semiconductor manufacturers currently produce only 5% of the global market, SAIC said. The global shortage of semiconductors has hit automakers around the…