Qingdao Hi-image Technologies Co (Hi-image Tech), a subsidiary of home appliance giant Hisense, has been included in the list of Qingdao's high-tech "reserve forces" mostly likely to go public. The company will receive the maximum prize of 3 million yuan ($471,300).

Fifty local high-tech companies made the list, which was released by the Qingdao Science and Technology Bureau.

Visitors browse Hi-image Tech products at an exhibition. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Qingdao government will offer tailored policy, service, and training support to help these companies go public.

Hisense is the earliest color TV manufacturer involved in chip research and development in China.

In June 2019, Hisense restructured its chip business and invested 500 million yuan with the Qingdao Microelectronics Innovation Center to establish Hi-image Tech to accelerate expansion in chip research, development, as well as production.

Hi-image Tech mainly focuses on LCD panel control chips and UHD image processing chips. Its timing controller (TCON) chips have covered the whole series from HD to 8K ultra HD TV products. The annual shipments of its TCON chips have exceeded 40 million and the cumulative shipments have reached 100 million, occupying more than 50 percent of the global market and ranking first.

The display control series chips of Hi-image Tech have been used in large quantities by the leading panel manufacturers in China, including BOE, TCL CSOT, and HKC.