May 24, 2022
The UK has today launched a national security review of a Chinese takeover of a key Welsh semiconductor plant.
Several high profile Tory MPs, including Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat, have previously called on the government to block the sale on national security grounds.
The firm has several defence contracts with the British government, sparking concerns that the Chinese government could use this as a foothold for intelligence gathering and espionage – claims denied by Nexperia.
Kwarteng said: “There will now be a full assessment under the new National Security and Investment Act. We welcome overseas investment, but it must not threaten Britain’s national security.”
It comes after Westminster’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) Committee also launched its own probe into the Newport Wafer Fab sale.
The Labour chair of the committee Darren Jones said: “We’ll be considering the government’s assessment of the acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab and how this fits into the wider semiconductor supply chain in the UK.”
