Nexperia China vows business as usual after Dutch wafer supply halt

Nexperia China moved to reassure customers that production will continue uninterrupted, saying it has secured new wafer suppliers and can meet client demand through to the end of the year and beyond.

The Chinese division of the semiconductor maker said it had “multiple contingency plans” in place, according to a bilingual statement published early Sunday.

The announcement underscored Nexperia China’s efforts to operate independently after Dutch authorities took control of its Netherlands parent from Chinese owner Wingtech in September amid concerns over alleged technology transfers.

Nexperia last week suspended wafer shipments from its assembly plant in southern China’s Guangdong provincial city of Dongguan, southern Guangdong province – a facility that handles about 70 per cent of the company’s global output – citing the local unit’s “failure to comply with the agreed contractual payment terms”.

In the statement, Nexperia China described the Dutch headquarters’ justification for the suspension as “misleading and highly deceptive”.

“Nexperia China has not breached any contracts; on the contrary, Nexperia Netherlands currently owes ATGD over 1 billion yuan (US$140 million) in outstanding payments,” the company said in the statement. ATGD refers to Nexperia’s assembly and testing plant in Dongguan, southern Guangdong province.

It added that the Dutch management team had “put personal interests above the company’s overall interests” and should “bear legal responsibility for the losses inflicted on the company and its employees”.