Home ›› 12 Oct 2022 ›› Stock
Chipmakers plunged in Asian trade Tuesday over new US measures to limit China's access to high-end semiconductors with military uses, a move that wiped billions from companies' valuations worldwide.
The announcement on Friday marked the latest volley in a long-running standoff between the two superpowers that has seen them face off over a range of issues including technology, trade, Hong Kong, Taiwan and human rights.
The US Department of Commerce said the measures include export restrictions on some chips used in supercomputing, and toughen requirements on the sale of semiconductor equipment.
The decision hammered chip manufacturers, with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index seeing its lowest close since late 2020, while Bloomberg News reported that $240 billion had been slashed from companies' market values globally.
Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo markets were closed for holidays on Monday, and when trading resumed Tuesday, chipmakers sank.
Taipei-listed firms were among the worst hit with the Taiex stock index shedding more than four per cent.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. shed 8.3 per cent and ASE Technology plunged nine per cent, while United Microelectronics shed seven per cent.
South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics, a major semiconductor maker, fell more than one per cent in Seoul where DB Hitek was off more than three per cent.
And in Tokyo, Renesas Electronics shed almost six per cent, with Tokyo Electron losing a similar amount.
The US measures are likely to complicate Beijing's push to further its own semiconductor industry and develop advanced military systems. They came days ahead of a major Communist Party congress in China at which President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a historic third term.
