Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV’s China unit yesterday said that it had established sufficient inventories of finished goods and works-in-progress, and that its supply chain remained secure and stable after its parent halted wafer supplies.
The Dutch company suspended supplies of wafers to its Chinese assembly plant a week ago, calling it “a direct consequence of the local management’s recent failure to comply with the agreed contractual payment terms,” Reuters reported on Friday last week.
Its China unit called Nexperia’s suspension “unilateral” and “extremely irresponsible,” adding that the Dutch parent’s claim about contractual payment was “misleading and highly deceptive,” according to a statement Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體) released early yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
Nexperia China had asserted it had the right to operate independently of Nexperia BV after Dutch authorities in September took over control of Nexperia from its Chinese owner Wingtech Technology Co (聞泰科技), citing concerns about possible technology transfers.
Beijing responded by blocking the company’s products from leaving China.
“We have proactively initiated multiple contingency plans and are accelerating the qualification of new wafer supply sources,” the Chinese unit said on its Chinese social media account, adding that it expected to meet all customers’ demands starting next year.
Existing inventories would sustain the Chinese unit’s order fulfilment “through year-end and beyond,” it added.
Nexperia makes basic, inexpensive power-control chips such as transistors and diodes that cost only a few cents to buy. However, such chips are needed in almost every device that uses electricity, and automakers that use Nexperia’s chips have warned of potential production disruptions.
The White House is expected to announce that Nexperia’s China facilities are resuming shipments, Reuters reported on Friday, after a trade truce was struck at a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Saturday said it would consider exemptions for Nexperia’s chip exports from the country.
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