Dutch court orders investigation into semiconductor chipmaker Nexperia
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered a formal investigation into Dutch semiconductor chipmaker Nexperia and upheld an earlier order suspending its Chinese CEO, citing doubts about the company’s policies and conduct.
The written decision by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal is the latest step in a saga swirling around Nexperia that has sent shockwaves among automakers around the world, which use the company’s chips in their cars.
The conflict made international headlines in October, when the Dutch government said it had effectively taken control of the company since late September for national security reasons.
Nexperia’s Chinese CEO Zhang Xuezheng, who is also founder of Nexperia’s owner Wingtech, was suspended by the Enterprise Chamber in October following allegations of mismanagement.
At a court hearing last month, lawyers for Zhang and Wingtech described him as a successful businessman trying to guide Nexperia through murky geopolitical waters. They urged the court not to order an investigation and said Wingtech had been blindsided by the Dutch government’s decision. Zhang was not in court for the hearing.
However, Nexperia’s lawyer Jeroen van der Schriek told the three-judge panel that the behavior of Wingtech and Hong Kong-based holding company Yuching since October “clearly shows that they are willing to subordinate Nexperia’s interests to other interests.”
An English statement released by the court following Wednesday’s decision said the chamber found that “a conflict of interest had been dealt with without due diligence” at Nexperia.
He added that there are “indications that Nexperia’s director changed his strategy without internal consultation under threat of future sanctions.” He specifies that the agreements with the Dutch Ministry of the Economy “are no longer respected, the powers of European leaders have been restricted and their dismissal has been announced”.
The court’s statement said it could not say with certainty how long the investigation would take, but added that such investigations could take more than six months. The court will use the findings to assess “whether there has been mismanagement at Nexperia and whether definitive action should be taken.”
Nexperia did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The dispute at Nexperia intensified when China temporarily blocked the export of Nexperia chips from its factory in China in October, forcing global automakers to scramble for supplies and alternatives. Beijing’s export ban was later lifted, after US President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October. And the Dutch government said in November that it was giving up its control of Nexperia as a “show of goodwill.”
But a standoff between Nexperia’s headquarters in the Netherlands and its Chinese unit continued to fuel concerns about the chip supply chain. Nexperia’s China arm said its Dutch headquarters had halted shipments of wafers to its Chinese factory, which it said had impacted its main production operations and strained its ability to deliver finished products. Nexperia’s corporate headquarters responded and said the Chinese unit had ignored instructions from corporate headquarters.
“Nexperia’s situation now requires above all a calm situation allowing Nexperia to re-establish its internal relations, its production chain and its deliveries to customers,” the court said on Wednesday.
Automakers including Honda had to halt production of some cars as the Nexperia crisis unfolded, and Mercedes-Benz was among those scrambling to find alternatives.
Nexperia was separated from Philips Semiconductors twenty years ago, then acquired in 2018 by Wingtech. In 2023, the British government blocked Nexperia’s bid to acquire Wales-based chipmaker Newport Wafer Fab, citing national security risks.
