Dutch government takes control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia

Post by teekert » Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 2:34 PM UTC

daan-k wrote: post #454

Doxin wrote: post #5

Some more context from a dutch news source[0]: The ministry of economic affairs intervened out of a fear that crucial technological skills and capacities will leave the Netherlands and Europe. The ministry stated in a press release[1] that there was a threat of a "knowledge leak" (w/e that means exactly) and a possible threat to the European economy. After this intervention the Dutch government can now stop or revers…

Some new information has just emerged in the Dutch press. According to a just published article by the NRC newspaper [0], the owner wanted to use Nexperia's funds to finance another business (WingSkySemi) which was in financial trouble. He would have done this by making Nexperia place large orders for wafers it did not need. The article mentions Nexperia only requiring $70-80 million in wafers, while Nexperia would h…

Post by infinet » Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

whp_wessel wrote: post #320

infinet wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netherlands imported more CeO2 (a rare earth) from China than any other country, with 517 metric tons during the first half of 2025.

with Dutch stats like this it’s always important to note what’s for Dutch use or transporting through the Port of Rotterdam.

Post by corimaith » Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

DiogenesKynikos wrote: post #474

benjiro wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> China has been moving towards more openness to foreign investment over time After they lost most of those same foreign investors that got tired of handing over their IP, the "local partnering" (what often resulted in state/court backed judgements against the foreign investors), ... The disasters "wolf warrior" politics, combined with the above mentioned issues. And the stringent monetary policies limitation on movi…

The IP sharing issue has been massively overblown. IP sharing was relatively limited. The European and American car manufacturers, for example, never lost their considerable competitive edge over their Chinese rivals. In the end, it was an entirely different technology - electric cars - that allowed the Chinese to leap-frog the legacy car manufacturers, and not because of IP sharing, but because of Chinese R&D in bat…

Post by like_any_other » Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 2:42 PM UTC

DeH40 wrote: post #352

like_any_other wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question was, emphasis mine: "which firms in China are controlled by European entities?" Western brands have investments , but are required by law to have a local partner, that learns the trade and eventually copies the product: China bars foreign companies from participating on their own in many industries, but in some of those industries foreign companies can participate only by forming a joint venture with a C…

That’s a common misconception, but it's factually incorrect. European companies can, and do, acquire and control companies in China. The legal framework and the reality on the ground show a very different picture. 1. The Law Explicitly Allows It: China's Foreign Investment Law (effective since Jan 1, 2020) clearly states that foreign investors are permitted to acquire the shares, equity, or other similar interests of…

Post by OhNoNotAgain_99 » Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

tinco wrote: post #538

ArnoVW wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the NRC article it says that board members started to complian that the CEO was "making choices that were not in the interest of the company". Four days later they were fired. "It was at that moment that Nexperia alerted the ministry of Economic Affairs"

Right, I suppose at that point there was some chauvinism or at least fear of being held accountable for it. But the thing that surprised me was that there was actually someone listening at Economic Affairs. Perhaps at that level a board of directors has connections at the government. Either that, or there's some AFM type branch that listens to directors' complaints.