One of China’s top contract manufacturers, Wingtech, has agreed to give Luxshare Precision Industry the operating assets and equity of most of its manufacturing subsidiaries.
Wingtech, which owns Nexperia in the Netherlands, informed investors over the Christmas break that the move would free up resources for its semiconductor company. Nexperia, with funding from Wingtech, has big aspirations for expansion.
For Luxshare, one of Apple’s most important suppliers in the area, the cash agreement is a victory. For many years, Luxshare has been manufacturing necessary Apple products, from parts to whole assemblies, including AirPods and AirPods Pro, in addition to supplying and putting together Mac laptops.
The nine companies in the Wingtech agreement will increase Qorvo’s ability to compete with Foxconn. Qorvo announced the sale of assembly and test plants to Luxshare at this time last year.
Wingtech recently invested US$1.6 billion in a 300mm power fab in Lingang, Shanghai, which can produce 120,000 wafers per month. This investment comes in addition to a $200 million investment in semiconductor capacity at Nexperia.
Western nations, however, believe the business has ties to the Chinese government, which raises security concerns.
