China’s spends on imports of critical chipmaking equipment from the Netherlands surged a whopping 1,050% in value in November, the South China Morning Post reported.
The surge suggests Chinese semiconductor firms are racing to acquire lithography systems before Dutch export curbs on key chipmaking equipment tighten from next year.
The Netherlands is the largest exporter of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems that are necessary to produce high-end chips.
Dutch firm ASML — the world’s biggest producer of those systems — has gained licences from the Dutch government to continue to sell to Chinese customers up until the end of the year.
China imported 16 Dutch projection systems worth more than $760 million in November, marking a tenfold year-on-year increase, SCMP said. Overall, the country imported 42 lithography systems through the month, worth more than $816 million, it added.
Aside from the Netherlands, Japan was the second major seller of lithography systems to China, the report said.
Read the full report: SCMP
- Vishakha Saxena
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