A congressional committee is investigating the purchase of 3Com Corp by a consortium that includes a Chinese company, intensifying scrutiny of the deal.
In a letter sent on Friday, Democratic Representative John Dingell said there is "growing apprehension in the Congress" about the security implications of the transaction.
Dingell chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Representative Joe Barton, the senior Republican on the panel, and two other members also signed the letter sent to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Network equipment maker 3Com agreed in late September to be purchased by private equity firm Bain Capital Management and Huawei Technologies (
Huawei's alleged ties with China's military have raised security concerns on Capitol Hill and in some government agencies. Last fall, 14 senators alleged the company is the "preferred provider" of telecom equipment to China's People's Liberation Army, in a letter to a Treasury official.
The transaction is under review by a government panel charged with scrutinizing foreign investment for national security concerns.
The 12-agency panel, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US or CFIUS, is chaired by Treasury and includes the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments.
Bain Capital, in a statement on Friday, said it is "engaged in a constructive dialogue with CFIUS regarding our proposed acquisition of 3Com Corp," and working with US officials.
"This is a confidential process to which we submitted voluntarily," Bain Capital said. "We continue to believe CFIUS will conclude that the company will remain firmly in the control of an American firm, has only a small minority foreign shareholder and that the completed deal will present no risks to national security."
Dingell's letter cited reports that China's military has attempted to hack into the Pentagon's computer network and said that such actions make security concerns more relevant because 3Com develops network security software.
"Given that 3Com Corporation manufactures communications network components -- some of which it supplies to the Pentagon, including firewall technology -- this transaction raises significant concerns about its potential effect on the national security of the United States," the letter said.
Paulson was asked to provide information about the government's review in a "nonpublic briefing" by Feb. 28.
Dingell and the other members also asked Paulson to describe the "extent and nature" of Huawei Technologies' ties to China's military and whether such ties "constitute a threat to US national security."
Several members of Congress cosponsored a resolution last fall that said the deal "threatens the national security of the United States" and called on the government to block it.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
RSS