Chinese-owned firm acquires UK's largest semiconductor manufacturer:
The UK's largest producer of semiconductors has been acquired by the Chinese-owned manufacturer Nexperia, prompting a senior Tory MP to call for the government to review the sale to a foreign owner during an increasingly severe global shortage of computer chips.
Nexperia, a Dutch firm owned by China's Wingtech, said on Monday that it had taken full control of Newport Wafer Fab (NWF), the UK's largest producer of silicon chips, which are vital in products from TVs and mobile phones to cars and games consoles.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling and the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, told CNBC on Monday that he would be very surprised if the deal was not being reviewed under the National Security and Investment Act, new legislation brought in to protect key national assets from foreign takeover.
"The semiconductor industry sector falls under the scope of the legislation, the very purpose of which is to protect the nation's technology companies from foreign takeovers when there is a material risk to economic and national security," he said.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday July 07 2021, @04:29PM (9 children)
Isn't the UK (like all 5-eyes) one nation that doesn't allow say Huawei in their networks? Security risk/theater etc reasons. But selling the or one of the largest chip manufacturers in the country to the chinese is fine? I'm sure Nexperia and their chinese owners have enough connections and ties to the government or military in china as much as the next company. Different strokes for different ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 07 2021, @04:47PM
Isn't that the whole purpose of this article, to say that they are looking into it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 07 2021, @04:49PM
In case of troubles, the brits can nationalize it back in retaliation, not like the chinese will take the merchandise home and make a dinner out of it.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Mojibake Tengu on Wednesday July 07 2021, @05:34PM (5 children)
The news from another part of Universe make it somewhat clearer:
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-07-07/chinas-wingtech-buys-troubled-top-uk-chipmaker-101736830.html [caixinglobal.com]
There. The keyword in "top U.K. chipmaker" is... "troubled".
It seems those capitalists are doing their capitalism wrong, and communists do the capitalism much better...
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 07 2021, @11:40PM (4 children)
> communists do the capitalism much better...
No, the CCP are practising state capitalism. [wikipedia.org] That's why the Chinese aren't starving.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Thursday July 08 2021, @12:16AM (1 child)
you can call it state capitalism all day long. no one is buying it. it's textbook fascism. they figured out communism didn't work about 30 years ago.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 08 2021, @02:46AM
"State capitalism" is the textbook definition of fascism.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 08 2021, @01:03PM (1 child)
Which will fail in a giant implosion of debt.
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3117686/debt-chinas-state-owned-firms-spotlight-credit-tightening [scmp.com]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 08 2021, @08:02PM
Why is $11 billion in loan defaults a sign of impending doom in China, and $45 billion in loan defaults in the US not?
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/us-leveraged-loan-default-rate-ends-2020-at-3-83-peak-seen-at-less-than-6-61960385 [spglobal.com]
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 07 2021, @08:49PM
That sounds like the Chinese bought it through a Dutch shell company.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 07 2021, @07:18PM
White nations are running out of time to wake up to the realities of history, the people working against them then and now, reclaim control over their countries, and keep China from acquiring all White technology.