The Dutch government is planning to resume chip shipments from the Nexperia factory in China in the coming days after what they termed as “constructive” talks with the Chinese authorities.
Vincent Karremans, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, announced on Thursday evening that shipments of Nexperia chips from China to Europe and other parts of the world should reach customers in the “coming days.”
In his statement, Minister Karremans said, “The Netherlands will closely monitor and support these developments, taking appropriate measures when necessary.”
According to Bloomberg, this means that if China lifts the export ban on Nexperia chips, the Minister is prepared to revoke the takeover order he issued on September 30, but the Ministry of Economic Affairs has not confirmed this information.
Minister Karremans invoked a national security law at the end of September to intervene in Nexperia. He stated at the time that this was done to safeguard chip supplies for the Dutch and European industries. Under the takeover order, the government has the authority to veto decisions by the company for one year from September 30.
A spokesperson for Minister Karremans’ office told Reuters on Friday that the Dutch government would not comment on whether they would cease intervention (takeover).
According to the Financial Times, German auto parts supplier Aumovio confirmed on Friday that chip shipments from Nexperia in China had resumed as Beijing relaxed the export ban. Philipp von Hirschheydt, CEO of Aumovio, stated at the company’s third-quarter financial meeting, “We are exporting (chips) from China again.” He added that the company had obtained an export control exemption.
Nexperia, headquartered in Nijmegen, was acquired by Chinese electronics company Wingtech in 2019. It has a major production base in China, producing around 50 billion chips per year.
Sources revealed to Dutch media that after being acquired by Wingtech, Nexperia’s CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, planned to transfer the European wafer production from Nexperia in the UK and Germany to Shanghai DingtaiJiangxin Technology under Wingtech, attempting to shift the core European technology to China. Part of Wingtech’s shares listed in Shanghai is held by the Chinese government.
Following the implementation of the takeover intervention by the Dutch side, Beijing promptly imposed an export ban, preventing these chips from leaving China, cutting off the supply to the European auto industry.
The day after, the Amsterdam corporate court suspended Zhang Xuezheng, CEO of Nexperia (also Wingtech), from his position. Additionally, the court ruled to transfer the voting rights of almost all the shares held by Wingtech in Nexperia to an independent administrator.
Last Thursday (October 30), Wingtech requested the reinstatement of Zhang Xuezheng to resolve the dispute and denied allegations of “technology theft” against him.