USA adds China’s top chipmaker to list of companies American money can’t legally buy a slice of
- Reference: 1607061488
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/12/04/smic_added_to_us_no_invest_list/
- Source link:
The Pentagon’s announcement states it is “determined to highlight and counter the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Military-Civil Fusion development strategy, which supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by ensuring its access to advanced technologies and expertise acquired and developed by even those PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities.”
SMIC’s foundries are now capable of producing 14nm devices, but it also advertises itself as offering mature manufacturing capabilities for 28nm, 40nm and larger-scale silicon. Huawei is one of SMIC’s key customers.
SMIC called a trading halt on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange before issuing a [1]statement [PDF] that strongly refuted the Department’s arguments and said the action wouldn’t trouble it in the slightest.
China unleashes fearsome new cyber-weapon: A very provocative meme [2]READ MORE
“There is no major impact on the Company’s operation after being added to the Chinese military companies list,” the statement says. “The Company strongly opposes the decision of United States Department of Defense, which reflects a fundamental misunderstanding by the United States Department of Defense regarding the end-uses of the Company’s business and technology.”
SMIC’s listing by the DoD means it now falls under president Trump’s [3]Executive Order on Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies that US entities can’t buy or trade SMIC shares.
The USA has already added SMIC to the Entity List of companies to which US companies are forbidden to export without a licence. US authorities have also warned local providers of chip-making equipment that their products will likely end up in the hands of China’s military.
The Chinese company therefore ended its statement by saying, in bold text, “Shareholders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when purchasing or selling shares of the Company.”
China’s US embassy appears not to have commented on the situation at the time of writing. Investors sent SMIC shares down 2.5 percent.
The new DoD [4]list [PDF] also includes Chinese oil, construction, and engineering companies. The four new listed companies join 31 on previous versions of the list and again demonstrate the USA’s intention to make life hard for China. ®
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[1] https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/1204/2020120400371.pdf
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/03/china_australia_meme_incident/
[3] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-securities-investments-finance-communist-chinese-military-companies/
[4] https://media.defense.gov/2020/Dec/03/2002545864/-1/-1/1/TRANCHE-4-QUALIFYING-ENTITIES.PDF
[5] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The Law of Unintended Consequences Delivering Karma as Shit Happens to the Thoroughly Deserving
Who are you? And what have you done with amanfromMars?
Cos I read that and it pretty much made sense, and then I realised who posted it and was a little surprised.
Re: The Law of Unintended Consequences Delivering Karma as Shit Happens to the Thoroughly Deserving
It's just one more instance of the US telling another sovereign state ' Don't do as we do, do as we say.'
Less of a world policeman, more of a world bully.
Here we go again...
The Yanks desperately trying to shore up their failing economy using a hopeless strategy, under the guise of "national security".
If it really wants to be competitive, maybe it could try, erm, you know, actually making stuff, without gouging customers.
But nope, clearly it's easier to run a protection racket than reopen factories.
Make America Broke Again!
I am starting to think that I need to try and avoid bying anything chinese.
The way China is behaving in HongKong and just their general attitude made me less and less able to justify aiding that country by buying it's products.
I would be great if Amazon and other companies listed the country of manufacture of all items, ideally allow you to exclude that country (or list of countries) when searching for items
Echo from the past ...?
"... Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies "
Not "the Chinese", not even "the People's Republic of China" but an Executive Order using the wholly incitive phrase "the Communist Chinese". I have heard McCarthy's lawyers are sueing for breach of copyright ...
At least we can rest in our beds knowing that the US Anti-Communist military can't get it's similarly mucky paws on equipment from Intel or AMD or IBM or Microsoft or Amazon ... or get funding from the state ...
Re: Echo from the past ...?
Yeah, this is just yet another example of some Yanks complaining about a different country doing exactly with they (Yanks) do.
Ho-hum
Given a choice between US shareholders and continuing to poach engineers from TSMC - no contest.
Except now there are plenty of competitors emerging inside China for the same talent pool.
The Law of Unintended Consequences Delivering Karma as Shit Happens to the Thoroughly Deserving
Investors sent SMIC shares down 2.5 percent.
Clearly they were not investors .... and easily led by chicken feed to feast elsewhere on incestuous home grown fare, a designedly ignominious ware?
Just imagine anyone in a free world telling you not to make money with your own money with an investment/punt on a sure fire bet? Well, for one thing, it surely wouldn't be anything you would find in a free world, is it, therefore is one sought and thought to be held captive in a rogue state there?