UK's Newport Wafer Fab now under Chinese ownership
The controversial sale of the Newport Wafer Fab to Chinese smartphone assembly concern Wingtech Technologies is done and dusted.
Companies House has posted a confirmation statement describing the transfer of shares to Nexperia, a Dutch entity controlled by Wingtech.
The deal is controversial – UK PM Boris Johnson has pledged a national security investigation and the UK's Minister of State pledged to review the transaction.
What is known is that the Newport Wafer Fab can crank out 32,000 wafers a month, working on a 200nm process. That's scarcely cutting-edge, tech given that Taiwan's TSMC is working on a 3nm process.
Of course, not every piece of electronics needs the latest and greatest, and the Newport facility specialises in providing unglamorous but important silicon for automotive, medical, industrial, consumer, telecom, and high power applications.
Wingtech's canned statement about the acquisition paints a rosy picture about the Fab's future, assuring workers and suppliers that jobs will be secure and suggesting further investment will flow.
