Dutch seized Nexperia over fears Chinese owners planned to move chip production to China

The Dutch government believed chipmaker Nexperia’s Chinese owners planned to move its manufacturing operations to China, prompting the unprecedented seizure of the company that has sent shock waves through the global tech world.

Earlier this month, authorities seized control of Nexperia’s management and ousted its Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, citing national security concerns.

In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce on October 4 imposed export controls on Nexperia’s Chinese subsidiary and its subcontractors, banning the export of domestically made components.

Frans Scheper, CEO of Nexperia until 2020, told Dutch media on Thursday that Wingtech, the parent company, has built a new factory in China, “which can take over production from Nexperia’s European factories”.

Scheper told Dutch broadcaster RTL that the Ministry of Economic Affairs “feared that Nexperia would move chip production from Europe to China; this would mean the loss of one of Europe’s largest chip manufacturers”.

The Post can confirm that this fear was the primary motivator behind The Hague’s dramatic intervention, which has infuriated Beijing and will almost certainly incur further retaliation.