ASML chief dismisses US-China tensions as headache for business
- Beijing wants to build its semiconductor industry to wean China off imports – an effort that would need ASML’s gear
- ASML’s extreme ultraviolet lithography technology has both civilian and military applications
ASML Holding’s top executive brushed off concerns about tensions between the United States and China, a market that is growing in importance to the Dutch supplier of chip manufacturing gear.
“Someone needs to make those chips and to make those chips you would need EUV, and there is basically only one place where they can get it,” ASML chief executive Peter Wennink said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio, referring to the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment. “For our total business it doesn’t really matter.”
ASML, which has a monopoly on advanced lithography equipment needed to make next-generation chips, is already a crucial supplier to Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, but hopes to drive deeper into China.
Beijing wants to build a world-class home-grown chip industry to wean China off imports – an effort that would need ASML’s one-of-a-kind machines. Yet it has faced difficulty getting the Dutch government to renew a licence to export to China amid ongoing trade tensions.
“It’s up to the Dutch government to determine whether there is a national security risk and of course there are views in the US and China whether that’s a risk,” said Wennink, adding that the company has responded to requests for information from the Dutch government.