Semiconductors

Japan Chip Equipment Makers Unaware of New China Restrictions

 

Japanese makers of chip manufacturing machinery and materials said on Monday they had yet to hear from the government about new export restrictions against China.

The group issued a statement following media reports on Friday that the United States had secured a deal with the Netherlands and Japan.

Dutch company ASML, a key supplier to chipmakers, also said on Saturday it “understood” that progress had been made towards an agreement among several governments.

“As we do not know what the situation is, we cannot comment on what the impact is and what our response will be,” a spokesman for Advantest, which makes chip-testing machines and other chip-related equipment, said.

 

Also on AF: Dutch PM ‘May Not Disclose’ Result Of China Chip Curbs Talks

 

Reuters contacted 10 chip-related companies about any new restrictions agreed by Japan, the US and the Netherlands last week. Of them, five – Advantest, Nikon, Resonac Holdings, Lasertec and Shin-Etsu Chemical – said they were unaware of any contact from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The five other Japanese firms contacted did not respond when asked about the possible impact of tighter export rules and whether they were concerned China would retaliate. Among them was Tokyo Electron, Japan’s biggest semiconductor manufacturing machinery maker.

Shares of Japanese semiconductor equipment makers were mostly flat on Monday, with Tokyo Electron up 0.68% while Advantest Corp fell 0.32%. Nikon Corp was up 0.16%, in line with the benchmark Nikkei average.

 

‘Impossible’ to assess impact

Past restrictions on advanced semiconductor shipments to China have not affected Japan. The country, which once dominated global chip manufacturing, now only makes around a 10th of the world’s semiconductors. Most of those are less advanced than the chips made by the likes of Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics.

Japan, however, is a major supplier of machines used to make those leading-edge semiconductors that could come under new restrictions.

“South Korea has constantly beaten Japan in semiconductors all these years, but one thing they don’t have is steppers,” which are used to project electronic circuits on to silicon plates, said Tokai Tokyo Research Institute analyst Masahiko Ishino. But without knowing the details of any new restrictions it is impossible to know their impact, he said.

The restrictions against advanced chips are part of US efforts to stymie rival China’s technological advancement. Without Japanese or Dutch cooperation, US companies would face a competitive disadvantage.

 

  • Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena

 

 

Also read:

 

ASML’s Taiwan Expansion Signals Chip Sector’s Next Big Leap

 

US Chipmakers Selling Advanced Chips to China: ASML Chief

 

China Gambles on Graphene to Win the Global Chip War

 

Nvidia Offers New Chip to China That Meets US Limits

 

Infographic: ASML in the Centre of the US-China Chip War

 

Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is the Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has been working as a digital journalist since 2013, and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As an eager stock market trader and investor, she is keenly interested in economy, emerging markets and the intersections of finance and society. You can tweet to her @saxenavishakha

Recent Posts

Nvidia Will Rent AI Computing Power to China – Yicai Global

Analysts say supercomputing power is the major obstacle holding back China's ChatGPT-like bot developers

11 hours ago

US Adds 14 More Chinese ‘Entities’ to Unverified List

The move will force exporting US firms to conduct ‘greater due diligence’ before shipping goods…

11 hours ago

China’s Super Rich Suffer as Tech Crackdowns, Covid Costs Hit

China saw 229 of its billionaires drop off the Hurun Global Rich List with Jack…

12 hours ago

Vietnam’s VinFast Finally Rolls Out VF9 Electric SUV

The country’s sole EV maker is gearing up to expand into the United States, where…

15 hours ago

No Cheer for Evergrande’s Long-Awaited Dollar Debt Revamp Plan

The debt restructuring plan has not proven popular with Evergrande dollar bondholders, with one likening…

16 hours ago

China Firm Nabs Solomon Islands Port Deal as US Watches On

The port reconstruction deal, part of a $170-million project to upgrade roads and wharves in…

16 hours ago