The global chip shortage will continue and consumers will have to pay for it, said an analyst from International Data Corporation.
Sasirin Pamai | stocks | beautiful pictures
The British government has blocked a Chinese-owned company from taking over the country’s largest chip factory, fearing it could undermine national security.
Grant Shapps, minister for business, energy and industry strategy, on Wednesday ordered Dutch chipmaker Nexperia to sell its majority stake in Newport Wafer Fab, the Welsh semiconductor company it owned. purchased for £63 million ($75 million).
Nexperia is based in the Netherlands but is owned by wing technology, a Chinese state-backed company partly listed in Shanghai. Nexperia completed its acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab in 2021 and the company subsequently changed its name to Nexperia Newport Limited, or NNL.
“This order has the effect of requiring Nexperia BV to sell at least 86% of NNL within a specified period and following a specific process,” the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said. in a statement.
Nexperia originally owned 14% of the shares of Newport Wafer Fab but on July 5, 2021, increased its ownership to 100%.
“We welcome foreign trade and investment to support growth and jobs,” Shapps tweeted Wednesday. “But when we identify a threat to national security, we will act decisively.”
Toni Versluijs, country director for Nexperia in the UK, said he believes the decision was wrong and the company plans to appeal.
“We are truly shocked,” Versluijs said in a statement Wednesday. “The decision was wrong, and we will appeal to rescind this divestment to protect more than 500 Newport jobs.”
Government officials and lawmakers have expressed concern that the UK is selling a valuable asset to a Chinese-owned company at a time when global semiconductor shortages are continuing. performance and is expected to last until 2024.
Britain launched a national security investigation into the Nexperia deal earlier this year, using powers that allow it to review and block foreign takeovers or investments in the sectors. sensitive.
The government said on Wednesday that the location of the Newport facility, part of a strategically important cluster of semiconductor specialists in Wales, was ultimately a national security concern.
Although not a particularly large company, Newport Wafer Fab operates Britain’s largest chip manufacturing facility, producing around 32,000 silicon wafers a month.
Countries are increasingly looking to regain control of strategically important industries such as semiconductors after widespread supply chain disruptions exposed an over-reliance on China as a global manufacturing hub.
The move could further worsen UK-China relations, which are already at a low point following moves from London to ban Huawei’s 5G equipment and grant those in Hong Kong special British visas that will eventually leading to civil rights.
The UK has previously investigated Nvidiathe acquisition of Arm, an important chip design company, due to national security concerns. The acquisition was shelved by the US semiconductor giant in February.
