UK government asks Chinese-owned company to sell 86% of its interest in UK-based semiconductor company

The UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has issued an order requiring the owner of the Newport Wafer Fab – a UK chipmaking facility – to sell off at least 86% of its interest in the fab. In July 2021, the facility was sold to the Dutch company Nexperies, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese company Wingtech Technology. The order was described as ‘necessary and proportionate to mitigate [a] risk to national security’. Nexperia denied the security concerns raised by the UK government.