Two Taiwanese companies identified in a Bloomberg report as doing business with Huawei Technologies Co (華為)-linked chipmakers in China yesterday said that their dealings in the country did not contravene US sanctions and were in line with national security laws.
Citing the Semiconductor Industry Association, Bloomberg on Tuesday reported that Huawei had set up “its own shadow network of chipmakers” with the support of the Chinese government in a bid to evade US sanctions.
Bloomberg’s report suggested that Huawei has been relying on three little-known firms in Shenzhen — Pengxinwei IC Manufacturing Co (鵬芯微), Pensun Technology Co (鵬新旭) and SwaySure Technology Co (昇維旭) — to produce chips based on its designs, with the involvement of four Taiwanese firms — chip material reseller Topco Scientific Co (崇越), cleanroom equipment supplier L&K Engineering Co (亞翔), construction specialist United Integrated Services Co (漢唐) and chemical supply system provider Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology Taiwan Co (矽科宏晟).
Photo: Reuters
Bloomberg reported that subsidiaries of the four Taiwanese companies had engaged in “unusual” dealings with the three firms, in a manner that “may be helping Huawei develop semiconductors to effectively break an American blockade.”
In a statement yesterday, L&K Engineering said that its Suzhou-based subsidiary was engaged in interior architecture work and electric and line pipe layout, adding that its business in China did not involve technologies and semiconductor equipment sales restricted by Washington.
Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology said that although it has received orders from Pengxinwei and Pensun since June last year to provide chemical supply system solutions for the two Chinese firms’ plants, it has never provided them with IC equipment.
The company said that as it has conducted business legally and followed national policy, it would continue to pursue its contracts with the two Chinese clients.
The statements from Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology and L&K Engineering came a day after Topco Scientific and United Integrated Services denied that their businesses in China had broken any laws by operating in the country.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) on Tuesday told reporters that, to her knowledge, the four Taiwanese companies were not supplying any key technologies or equipment to Huawei, as local companies are legally barred from providing key technologies to China while investing in the Chinese market.
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