SINGAPORE — Loss-making STATS ChipPAC, majority-owned by Temasek Holdings, has received a US$780 million (S$1 billion) acquisition offer from Chinese chip-testing firm Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET).

JCET will begin 30-day exclusive talks to acquire STATS ChipPAC after making a non-binding offer for the company, a stock exchange filing showed. The deal will not include STATS ChipPAC’s units in Taiwan.

JCET’s funding arrangements for the acquisition are at an advanced stage, STATS ChipPAC said.

The purchase of STATS ChipPAC, the world’s fourth-largest provider of chip packaging and testing, would add to the US$26 billion of semiconductor deals in the past year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged financial support to the country’s chip industry as he seeks to reduce reliance on foreign companies for key technologies.

Temasek, which has been an investor in STATS ChipPAC since 1995, owns an 84 per cent stake in STATS ChipPAC, Bloomberg data showed.

Singapore-listed STATS ChipPAC was suspended from trading on Nov 3, the same day JCET’s shares were halted in Shanghai. The Singapore company has asked for its shares to resume trading today. BLOOMBERG