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THE HAGUE (AP) — The Dutch government has taken effective control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia in what it called a “highly exceptional” move over concerns that deficiencies in corporate governance pose a potential risk to European economic security.
In a statement issued late Sunday, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs said it had invoked the rarely used Goods Availability Act to intervene in the business of Nexperia, which makes semiconductors used in the automotive and consumer technology industries. Nexperia, based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, is owned by the Chinese firm Wingtech Technology.
Las Concerns about Nexperia’s governance “represented a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities,” the ministry said. “Losing these capabilities could represent a risk to Dutch and European economic security,” he added, without giving further details.
The government said it wanted to avoid a situation where Nexperia processors “become inaccessible in an emergency.”
The government provided few details about its decision to invoke the law on September 30, but the move underscores broader geopolitical tensions between China and the West over the development and dominance of advanced technologies such as computer chips.
Nexperia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wingtech said in a social media post that it “firmly opposes the politicization of business issues.”
Wingtech called the Dutch government’s move “an excessive intervention based on geopolitical bias instead of a fact-based risk assessment” on the “baseless pretext of national security.”
Wingtech shares fell 10% – the daily limit – on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Wingtech told the exchange that the decision “temporarily restricts” its control over Nexperia.
The Dutch government said it wanted to avoid a situation where Nexperia chips “become inaccessible in an emergency.” Nexperia’s “regular production process” can continue, he added.
The company said it would look for “ legal recourse,” promised to protect the rights and interests of the company and its shareholders; and is “actively contacting relevant government departments to seek support.”
The Dutch government said its move to exercise control means that “the company’s decisions can be blocked or reversed by the Minister of Economic Affairs if they are (potentially) detrimental to the interests of the company, to its future as a Dutch and European company, and/or to the preservation of this critical value chain for Europe.”
Nexperia was spun off from Phillips Semiconductors two decades ago and was then purchased in 2018 by Wingtech. In 2023, the British government blocked Nexperia’s bid to acquire Wales-based chipmaker Newport Wafer Fab, citing national security risks.
Late last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce included Wingtech on an expanded list of Chinese tech companies subject to export controls. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the move was aimed at harming China’s ability to use advanced technologies that “pose a risk to our national security.”
China “consistently opposes the overbroadening of national security concepts and discriminatory practices targeting companies from specific countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Monday when asked about the issue. “Relevant countries should truly uphold market principles and avoid politicizing economic and trade issues.”
The European Union has been in “close contact” with Dutch authorities and will now work with the Netherlands on “next steps” to secure crucial technological capabilities on the continent, European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
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AP researcher Chen Shihuan in Beijing, AP business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong and AP journalist Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed. Kelvin Chan reported from London.
