Tsinghua chief says still discussing potential deal with Micron

TAIPEI (Reuters) - China's Tsinghua Holdings is still discussing a potential deal to buy U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and hopes it could eventually go through, the state-backed investment company's chairman told Reuters on Thursday.

Xu Jinghong, chairman of Tsinghua Holdings, parent company of Tsinghua Unigroup, said it has not received any directive from Chinese government about the potential $23 billion (14.7 billion pounds) offer.

"It would be of great significance to China's domestic semiconductor industry," Xu told Reuters, speaking on the sidelines of a business event in Taipei. "We hope the deal can eventually come through."

Xu said his firm hasn't had any discussions with U.S. regulators about a deal. Micron has told Tsinghua its offer is not realistic because U.S. authorities would block the deal due to national security concerns, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Michael Gold; Writing by Faith Hung; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)