Oct 14, 2025 11:24:00

Dutch government takes 'unprecedented' control of Chinese semiconductor maker Nexperia

It has been revealed that the Dutch government has seized management rights of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned semiconductor manufacturer based in the Netherlands, using emergency legislation enacted during the Cold War. According to the Dutch government, the purpose of this decision is to secure Nexperia's products in an emergency. China has protested, calling this a 'geopolitical bias.'

Minister of Economic Affairs invokes Goods Availability Act | News item | Government.nl

https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2025/10/12/minister-of-economic-affairs-invokes-goods-availability-act

Nederland grijpt hard in bij chipfabrikant Nexperia uit angst voor lekken chipkennis naar China - NRC
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/10/12/nederland-grijpt-hard-in-bij-chipfabrikant-nexperia-uit-angst-voor-lekken-chipkennis-naar-china-a4909310

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https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/10/13/waarom-schoof-nederland-de-chinese-topman-van-chipmaker-nexperia-opzij-a4909432

Dutch government takes control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia
https://www.ft.com/content/605e5456-9437-47ff-be6a-edc5c82810f2

China's Wingtech Dives 10% After Dutch Take Control of Nexperia Chip Unit - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-13/china-s-wingtech-dives-10-after-dutch-take-control-of-chip-unit

Nexperia was spun off from the Netherlands-based electronics manufacturer Philips, later acquired by a Chinese state-backed investment consortium, and acquired by Chinese company Wingtech in 2019. Since then, it has been a subsidiary of Wingtech, producing semiconductors for the automotive industry and consumer electronics.

On October 13, 2025, Wingtech announced that 'following intervention by Dutch government ministries and courts, Nexperia's management rights have been effectively frozen.' The Dutch government has issued an order prohibiting Nexperia and its worldwide subsidiaries, branches, and offices from making any adjustments to assets, intellectual property, business operations, or personnel for up to one year.

The order places Nexperia under temporary government control, allowing it to continue operating as usual, but giving the government the power to block or overturn decisions of the Nexperia board.

The Dutch government explained that it issued

the Supply of Goods Act to prevent Nexperia's products from becoming unavailable in the event of an emergency. The Supply of Goods Act is a law enacted in 1952 that allows government intervention in private companies to ensure the supply of critical materials in case of emergencies. This is the first time that this law, which was created in anticipation of war or other disasters, has been applied.

The Dutch government said: 'Serious governance deficiencies and behaviours were found within Nexperia. These manifestations posed a threat to technical knowledge and capabilities and their protection on Dutch and European territory. The loss of these capabilities could pose a risk to the economic security of the Netherlands and Europe,' but did not specify what the risks were.

Dutch media outlet NRC reported that 'sources said there were signs that Nexperia was leaking semiconductor knowledge to China.'

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs implemented the measure on September 30, 2025, but did not make it public until October 12.

There has been resentment within Nexperia against its parent company, Wingtech, and on October 1, 2025, three Nexperia executives with Dutch and German nationality reportedly filed an emergency hearing with the Dutch Court of Appeal, requesting that Chinese director Zhang Xuezheng be suspended and that control of Nexperia's shares be stripped from Chinese shareholders and transferred to an independent third party.

According to Wingtech, the judge granted the request without a hearing and suspended Zhang from his directorship at Nexperia, as well as from his non-executive directorship at Wingtech. The judge also ordered the appointment of an independent, non-Chinese director with decisive voting power to represent Nexperia. The NRC noted, 'The Court of Appeals has taken an unusually closed-door approach to this matter.'

Wingtech said, 'The Dutch government's decision to freeze Nexperia's global operations on the pretext of 'national security' is an excessive intervention driven by geopolitical bias, rather than a fact-based risk assessment. This measure is in stark contradiction to the European Union's long-standing position of advocating market economy principles, fair competition and international trade norms.'

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 'the Netherlands should truly adhere to market principles and not politicize economic and trade issues,' expressing its opposition to discriminatory measures against Chinese companies that abuse the concept of national security.

In 2024, the US government added Wingtech to its foreign trade restrictions list, known as the Entity List, requiring US companies to apply for a license to sell products to the company. In 2025, new rules were introduced that expanded sales restrictions to subsidiaries of companies on the Entity List, including Nexperia, a subsidiary of Wingtech.