China's Wingtech May Claim USD8 Billion in Damages Over Nexperia Control Dispute, Source Says

(Yicai) Dec. 29 -- China's Wingtech Technology may seek international arbitration and claim damages of up to USD8 billion if the issue of shareholder control over its Dutch chipmaking subsidiary Nexperia remains unresolved within six months, according to a source from the company.During Wingtech's fifth extraordinary general meeting of the year on Dec. 26, Chairman Yang Mu said that the company will reiterate its stance and actively safeguard its rights through next month's second hearing to be convened by the Dutch Enterprise Chamber, a special division of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, the source told Yicai.Wingtech temporarily lost control over Nexperia, headquartered in Nijmegen, following the issuance of a ministerial order on national security grounds by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy on Sept. 30 and subsequent emergency measures imposed by the Dutch Enterprise Chamber.Amid Nexperia Netherlands cutting off the supply of semiconductor wafers to Chinese packaging factories, its China arm is conducting verification work on domestic wafer suppliers to ensure supply chain stability, Yang said. The verifications will likely be completed between the first and second quarters of next year, Yang added.At the general meeting, Wingtech named Gan Peizhong, a renowned legal professional, as an independent director, with Yang noting that the appointment is expected to help the company protect its legitimate rights and interests.Wingtech held the first round of consultations with the independent directors and equity custodians of Nexperia appointed by the Dutch Enterprise Chamber this month, Yang said, but noted no details can be disclosed yet due to the confidentiality obligations binding both parties.The ministerial order required Nexperia and its 30 global entities, including subsidiaries, branches, and offices, not to make any changes to their assets, intellectual property, business, or personnel for a year, with the Dutch Enterprise Chamber issuing a further ruling on Oct. 7.The Dutch court then appointed an interim management of Nexperia, which fired senior employees of Chinese nationality or with Chinese backgrounds, blocked accounts and emails of Chinese workers, suspended salary payments, social security, and other benefits to Nexperia China employees, disconnected the Chinese research and development center from the Dutch HQ, and halted wafer supplies to Chinese factories.Although the Dutch minister of economic affairs announced the suspension of the administrative order last month, it has not been revoked and the ruling of the Enterprise Chamber remains in effect, meaning that Wingtech's control over Nexperia is still restricted.On Dec. 22, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce reiterated that the root cause of the Nexperia dispute lies in the improper administrative intervention of the Dutch government in enterprise operations.To eliminate the concerns of global downstream customer firms about chip shortages, the Dutch government should immediately revoke the administrative order, promote the withdrawal of the lawsuit filed by the former senior management of Nexperia Netherlands with the Enterprise Chamber, create favorable conditions for company consultations, and resume wafer supplies as soon as possible, the spokesperson stressed.Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev