Chinese want to buy German chip factory – warn secret services Ask the survival experts: what to do if there is looting during the blackout?

The German semiconductor manufacturer Elmo’s semiconductor wants to sell its chip production to competitor Silex, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese group Sai Microelectronics.

Apparently the federal government has nothing against the takeover by China, the Handelsblatt reports in government circles.

Contrary to warnings from German secret services, which have spoken out against the sale to China, the Federal Chancellery plans to take over the Dortmund factory. The Ministry of Economic Affairs under Robert Habeck also does not want to oppose the deal, the report continues.

Outdated technology that does not benefit China

In government circles, approval for the sale is justified by the fact that Elmos’ business technology is outdated and of little value. It wouldn’t benefit China much either.

Elmos mainly produces chips for the automotive industry, which are indispensable for any modern vehicle. Bottlenecks and production downtime in the semiconductor industry increased, especially during the height of the corona pandemic. In addition, the majority of chip production worldwide takes place in Asia, especially in geopolitically important Taiwan.

Intention to sell to the Chinese leaves question marks

This is one of the reasons why the approval of such a deal does not only raise questions of the secret services. “It can’t be, how badly do we want to put ourselves in Chinese hands?” the “Handelsblatt” quoted an unnamed traffic light politician.

The German security authorities do not only see the technological advantage of a Chinese takeover. Moving manufacturing capacities from Europe to Asia would make us even more dependent on system competitor China and jeopardize economic independence. The country specifically purchases important industries in order to put pressure on individual countries in the event of a dispute.

As the Handelsblatt reports, neither Elmos nor the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs have so far been willing to comment on the situation.

sources

(dsc/t online)