Shares of China's major chipmakers lost $8.6 billion in market value on Monday. According to @FinancialTimes the cause is US export controls that have threatened to obstruct Beijing's plans for technological self-sufficiency. [China chip stocks lose $8.6bn in wipeout due to US export ... – FT]
The sharp losses came after Washington unveiled new export controls on Friday that restrict the sale of semiconductors made with US technology unless vendors obtain an export licence. The controls also bar US citizens or entities from working with Chinese chipmakers without explicit approval and limit the export of manufacturing tools that would allow China to develop its own equipment.
The US commerce department said on Friday that it had added 31 companies to its “unverified list” in an effort to make it more difficult for Chinese companies to manufacture or obtain advanced computer chips vital to cutting-edge technologies.
The restrictions had already sent the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor index down more than 6 per cent on Friday as analysts warned that Chinese chip producers would take a substantial hit from the new restrictions. The Chinese semiconductor market, based on end users, accounts for almost a quarter of global demand.
The CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares fell 2.2 per cent while benchmark Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 3 per cent.
