American companies manufacturing equipment for semiconductor production are moving their staff and facilities out of China, Nikkei reported on Friday. These include Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp., which account for 35% of the chip tool market, according to the report.
Sources familiar with the matter said that all three companies have been moving their non-Chinese staff from China to Singapore and Malaysia, as well as shifting production to Southeast Asian countries. The United States has been leading the effort to restrict exports of chip tools to China and has made deals with the Netherlands and Japan on the issue, with the European Union also agreeing to "deprive China of the most advanced chips."
