Newport Wafer Fab has been thrust into the struggle between the West and China.
Last July the outfit hit financial difficulties and was bought by Nexperia, one of its customers. Nexperia is headquartered in the Netherlands but its ultimate owners are Chinese firm Wingtech Technology.
Suddenly the British government realised that it was not in the strategic interest that China gains prominence in the global semiconductor industry. Well we say realised it was told by America which seemed to take the problem a little more seriously.
It was only this May, close to a year after the sale and after heaving lobbying, that ministers ordered a national security review under new powers.
The national security concerns are not about highly sensitive technology being made at the site with a defence or intelligence role. Rather it is about not having to rely on chips made overseas. Suddenly making your own chips is fashionable.
Newport Wafer Fab is being seen as one of the building blocks to kick the UK off.
The Newport facility does not make the most advanced semi-conductors and some question if the UK really can invest at this level. But if it did, Newport is all the UK has.
Again this is ironic because until the Americans got the British on the blower and said the plant’s future was not looking good and staff were worried the plant was going to close.
To be unfair to the government, it blithely let ARM be sold to Softbank. It’s record is, frankly something that can’t be denied is atrocious.
