The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources.
Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company.
The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages.
Photo: Piroschka van de Wouw, Reuters
Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to make chips — from Nexperia factories in Europe to China.
“From a supply chain perspective, we have completed the shift from global to domestic production in China,” a Nexperia China representative told potential clients at a company event in Beijing on Wednesday.
The representative assured attendees that the domestically made chips would meet the same stringent quality standards as previous products.
“Because the Dutch side cut our wafer supply, we have to use domestically made wafers. In the future, all products will be full local production,” a source close to the matter told AFP, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to media.
Nexperia’s China unit could achieve full localization for most of its chips in the second half of 2026, including ones widely used in car production, he said.
Nexperia referred AFP to previous public statements including an open letter published in November last year, saying it “continues to seek a constructive collaboration with Nexperia’s entities in China and has been requesting an open dialogue to find a path forward to restoring the regular supply of goods.”
“Any attempts (Nexperia’s Dutch headquarters) has made to engage in a constructive and meaningful dialogue with the management in China since then have been unsuccessful.”
The Nexperia saga kicked off in September last year when the Dutch government invoked a Cold War-era law to effectively seize control of Nexperia, which is based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen.
Once part of Dutch electronics giant Royal Philips NV, it was acquired in 2018 by China’s Wingtech Technology Co (聞泰科技).
Nexperia’s Dutch headquarters has since cut off access to its office systems for employees in China, causing “significant disruption” to operations, the Chinese unit said in a statement last month.
Nexperia microchips are mainly found in cars, but also industrial components, as well as consumer appliances and electronics, such as refrigerators.
Prior to the seizure, Nexperia typically produced wafers in Europe and then sent them for packaging into finished chips in China and Southeast Asia.
Beijing retaliated to the seizure in October with export controls on products made by Nexperia in China — a blow to the company’s business — but has since re-allowed exports for civilian use.
Nexperia said in late October that it had suspended direct wafer supplies to its Chinese unit. The suspension remains in place.
The latest development comes just weeks after Nexperia China announced it had started producing several types of chips using domestically made 12-inch wafers.
Similar chips made by its Chinese-owned Dutch parent use less advanced 8-inch wafers from Germany.
Nexperia China’s packaging factory in the manufacturing hub of Dongguan is currently operating at about 60-70 percent of its original production capacity using stockpiles, client-supplied wafers and alternative domestic suppliers, the source close to the matter told AFP.
The company is on track to resume up to 90 percent production capacity for its popular products in the second quarter of this year, he said.
The China unit’s main production now centers on a packaging factory in Dongguan and a wafer factory in Shanghai, supplemented by contracted external suppliers for additional packaging and wafer capacity.
“Nexperia China’s future focus will be on these two factories (in Dongguan and Shanghai),” the source said.
“They will serve as the main production centers for our products.”
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
HEIGHTENED CONCERNS: A survey by National Central University showed that consumer concerns are linked to uncertainty caused by the war in Iran Taiwan’s consumer confidence declined this month as escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment and heightened concerns over inflation and economic risks, a survey released yesterday by National Central University (NCU) said. The consumer confidence index dropped 4.28 points from the previous month to 62.3, the lowest level in three years and two months, the survey showed. All six sub-indicators dropped, including expectations for prices, household finances, the domestic economic outlook, employment opportunities, stock investment interest and purchases of durable goods. The retreat in sentiment reflects growing uncertainty linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has raised
RSS