Chinese automaker BYD said on Tuesday it had scrapped plans to list its semiconductor unit in China, saying a move to step up investments in wafer production would remarkably affect the unit's asset structure.

"BYD Semiconductor intends to seize the time window to make large-scale investment in wafer production capacity," BYD said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange, adding that the present wafer supplies were far from enough to meet demand amid rapid growth in electric vehicle manufacturing.

Scrapping the planned initial public offering (IPO) will not have a material adverse impact on the existing operations of the company or the future development strategies of the group, the automaker added.

BYD said it would restart the listing process of the unit after the completion of the investment and production capacity expansion.

The chip unit sought to raise 2 billion yuan ($281 million) for the funding projects and the replenishment of capital on the Nasdaq-like ChiNext Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, according to the IPO prospectus.

The IPO plan was first stopped by the exchange in August 2021, as a company advising on the IPO process faced a regulatory probe.