Tensions flare as Wingtech slams chipmaker Nexperia’s head office over deception

A fierce war of words has erupted between Dutch chipmaker Nexperia and its Chinese owner, Wingtech Technology, after China and the European Union signalled that their dispute should be resolved at the corporate level.

Wingtech accused Nexperia’s head office of being insincere after the Dutch head office publicly released a letter that said the chipmaker’s Chinese unit had been unresponsive to requests for talks.

The heightened tensions underscore the complexity in resolving the two sides’ dispute over the control of Nexperia, which threatens to disrupt global car supply chains.

It has also raised speculation that operations of Nexperia could be split into two: one centred at the Chinese unit’s factory in Dongguan in southern Guangdong province, and the other at the chipmaker’s head office in Nijmegen, the biggest city in Gelderland, the Netherlands’ largest province.

Shanghai-listed Wingtech demanded the restoration “of its lawful control and shareholder rights” in Nexperia, according to a statement released in both Chinese and English on Friday.

Regaining control of Nexperia marks “the foundation and prerequisite for resolving the current crisis in the global semiconductor supply chain,” Wingtech said. It also alleged that Nexperia’s head office was attempting to create a “de-China-ised” supply chain that would permanently strip Wingtech of its shareholder rights.