Staff reporter and Reuters
More than 40 mainland semiconductor companies are expected to log losses last year amid weak global demand and US chip curbs on exports to China.
Among 80 listed semiconductor firms, 41 have expected losses, with those in the consumer electronics semiconductor and chip design businesses being hit the most, mainland media Yicai reported, citing data from data services provider Wind.
Separately, an American official has made the most direct comments by a US authority to date acknowledging the existence of a deal with Japan and the Netherlands for those countries to impose new restrictions on exports of chip-making tools to China.
"We can't talk about the deal right now," said the deputy secretary of the Commerce Department, Don Graves, on the sidelines of an event in Washington. "But you can certainly talk to our friends in Japan and the Netherlands."
The United States in October imposed sweeping export restrictions on shipments of chip-making tools to China, seeking to hobble Beijing's ability to supercharge its chip industry and enhance its military capabilities.
For the restrictions to be effective, Washington needed to bring on board the Netherlands and Japan, home to chip-making powerhouses ASML and Tokyo Electron, among others.
Officials from the Netherlands and Japan were in Washington discussing a wide range of issues in talks led by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday.
Shares of China's biggest chip maker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (0981), rose 2.8 percent yesterday.
REUTERS
