Chinese semiconductor firm Wingtech Technology Co (聞泰科技) yesterday said it would seek help from Beijing and vowed to protect its interests, after Dutch authorities intervened over its European subsidiary Nexperia Holding NV.
Officials in the Netherlands invoked the Goods Availability Act to take control of Dutch-based chip maker Nexperia late last month, citing national security concerns, the Dutch government said in a statement on Sunday.
That means that while the company — based in Nijmegen, Netherlands — can continue regular production, its decisions can be blocked or reversed by the Dutch government.
Photo: EPA
The move was due to “recent and acute signals of serious governance shortcomings and actions” within Chinese-owned Nexperia, the statement said.
“These signals posed a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities,” it said.
Wingtech said it was engaging with “relevant government departments to secure support” following the decision.
The company is discussing legal remedies and measures with international law firms, it said in a filing published on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
It vowed to “take all necessary actions to maximize the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the company and all shareholders.”
Once part of Dutch electronics giant Royal Philips NV and its semiconductor spin-off NXP Semiconductors NV, Nexperia was eventually bought by Wingtech in 2018.
It makes chips for everyday goods such as cars and refrigerators.
“China always opposes overstretching the concept of national security and discriminatory moves that target companies from certain countries,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) said at a regular news briefing in Beijing yesterday. “China is firmly resolved in defending its own legitimate and lawful rights and interests.”
Semiconductors have become a key battleground between China and the West.
The US and the Netherlands are among the powers that have imposed restrictions on exporting advanced chipmaking equipment to China, fearing Beijing could use it to make cutting-edge weapons.
Wingtech was put on one of Washington’s “entity lists” in December last year, meaning it had been determined by the government to be acting contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the US.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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