21 pointsby runningmike10 hours ago2 comments
  • fidotron4 hours ago
    A lot about this story hinges on this paragraph:

    > The statement did not detail why it thought the firm's operations were risky. A spokesperson for the minister of economic affairs told the BBC there was no further information to share.

    It is asserted, on trust, that the NL government are acting within the terms of the contract, but there is no transparency at all about the basis for this happening.

    > The Hague said it took the decision due to "serious governance shortcomings" and to prevent the chips from becoming unavailable in an emergency.

    This strongly implies they think some event will occur involving them cutting supplies.

    I half wonder if this is a similar situation to that which unfolded at that steel plant in the UK. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg17g39x41o

  • runningmike10 hours ago
    A real dangerous actions and precedent from this government in what was once a normal democratic country…
    • jacquesm10 hours ago
      It still is and as a resident I totally support this move.
      • hshdhdhehd5 hours ago
        Downside is it sends a clear message. Foreign businesses should not invest here.

        Or does it? You seem closer to the action.

        • jacquesm4 hours ago
          No, that's not the message it sends at all. It says: what's in the contracts matter. NL - and in consult with a lot of other countries that have a stake in this - gave conditional permission for this deal. That allowed the Chinese company to take effective control while still protecting the various interests in the IP and in the continuity of the company. NXP is not just a fab, it is much more than that and as such it is critical infrastructure for a large swath of EU and US industry. That's why I believe the sale was a mistake, but I can see how if the counterparty promises to abide by certain restrictions that they let the deal go through. What happened now is a direct result of activity related to bypassing those restrictions.

          The fact that this is a mechanism that has been only extremely reluctantly used is proof positive that NL is open for business, and I'm pretty sure this will have immediate consequences for further acquisitions of EU tech by Chinese companies.

      • mytailorisrich9 hours ago
        Nexperia stems from Philips Semiconductors. It is a Dutch company that was bought by a Chinese company. Then the Dutch government pulls this. Dutch credibility is taking a big hit here.
        • jacquesm9 hours ago
          I would happily bet that I know a lot more about NXP than you do.

          Dutch credibility took a hit when they sold it in the first place, imo that should have never happened. This is damage control, there were some pretty strict rules put in place around the acquisition and there were - strong - signals that these rules were not respected.

          • bn-l6 hours ago
            This is now acceptable because of a mistake they willingly made?
            • jacquesm4 hours ago
              They did not make it willingly, they made it under substantial pressure and only went along when an important set of restrictions and conditions was agreed upon. Their big mistake was to believe that that contract would be honored, and I'm pretty sure that that is going to be a one-off.