Zhao’s case follows a string of investigations into the mismanagement of China government funds which were intended to give China a leading position in Semiconductor manufacturing.
Anong those under investigation are: former minister Xiai Yaqing, Big Fund chief exec Ding Wenwu and execs Lu Jun and Gao Songtao, Wang Wenzhong partner in Shenzhen Hongtai fund, Diao Shijing, co-president Tsinghua Unigroup, Li Luyuan, chairman of a Unigroup subsidiary, Chen Datong of Suzhou investment fund and three execs from Sino IC Capital – Du Yang, Ren Kai and Yang Zhengfan.
All these incurred the fury of China politicians for failing to deliver a top-class chip industry in China after spending over a $100 billion.
It is now acknowledged in China that they are years, if not decades from catching up with the US and winning self-sufficiency in chip supply which had been a stated aim of Xi Jinping.
Zhao is a big hitter in the Chinese semiconductor industry making a $23 billion bid for Micron in 2015.
He was born in Xinjiang – a remote area bordering Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. “I raised pigs and herded sheep for a living, I knew that only education could change my fate,” he said describing his upbringing. He paid his way through college by fixing televisions and writing computer software.