The Netherlands takes state control over Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia
Photo: Nexperia

On September 30, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs applied the law on the availability of goods due to serious corporate governance issues at Nexperia. This is an exceptional measure that gives the minister the right to block or cancel company decisions if they could harm the interests of the company or Europe, according to the ministry's website .

Nexperia, which produces chips for the automotive and electronics industries, is headquartered in Nijmegen in the eastern Netherlands, but is owned by the Chinese company Wingtech Technology. Nexperia is one of the world's largest manufacturers of diodes and transistors.

"The law was applied following recent and acute signals of serious management and operational deficiencies within Nexperia. These signals posed a threat to the continuity and preservation of critical technological knowledge and capabilities on Dutch and European territory," the ministry said in a statement .

"The decision is aimed at preventing a situation in which the goods produced by Nexperia (finished and semi-finished products) will become unavailable in an emergency," the ministry said .

According to the sources of the Dutch edition of NRC, Nexperia's know-how was allegedly planned to be transferred to China.

The ministry's decision to intervene economically should not affect the production of Nexperia chips, the ministry said in a statement.

SCMP writes that the Chinese owners have already reacted to the Dutch decision, calling it "excessive interference.".

"Such actions seriously contradict the European Union's long-standing commitment to the principles of a market economy, fair competition and international trade norms. We express our strong protest against this discriminatory treatment of Chinese businesses," the company said on WeChat.