Did They Know About US Semiconductor Regulations in Advance? Chinese-American Criticized for Selling Stocks

SCMP: Chinese Semiconductor Equipment Company AMEC Chairman Sells Shares Before Announcement
AMEC Executive with US Citizenship Sells Over 200,000 Shares Before Announcement

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] Ahead of the announcement of the U.S. regulatory measures on China's semiconductor industry, American executives of major Chinese semiconductor chip equipment companies reportedly sold their shares, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 21st.

On the 7th (local time), the U.S. Department of Commerce added 31 Chinese companies to the 'Unverified List.' The Unverified List is an export control measure triggered when U.S. authorities cannot accurately identify the final consumer. This regulation is widely analyzed as targeting Chinese semiconductor equipment companies.

SCMP added that the Americans who sold shares ahead of the U.S. regulations are Chinese-American.

SCMP pointed to Gerald Yin (Chinese name Yin Zhiyao), chairman of the Chinese semiconductor equipment company Zhongwei Semiconductor (AMEC), as a representative figure.

Born in Beijing, China, Chairman Yin has worked for over 20 years at major U.S. semiconductor companies such as Intel and Applied Materials (AMAT). He obtained U.S. citizenship in 2004 and returned to China the same year to establish AMEC.

SCMP reported that at the end of July, Yin and three other U.S. national executives, among six executives in total, filed with the stock exchange plans to sell 2.44 million shares within three months.

Following the announcement of U.S. semiconductor regulations, AMEC's stock price plummeted by 19%. On that day, Chairman Yin reported selling 549,500 shares out of the 6.43 million shares he held as of the end of September for 77.4 million yuan (approximately 15.06 billion KRW).

SCMP pointed out that since AMEC's listing in 2019, Yin has never sold any of his shares until now.

SCMP further noted that there is no evidence that Chairman Yin and other executives had prior knowledge of the U.S. semiconductor regulations. However, citing AMEC's disclosure documents, it pointed out that besides senior management such as James Yang Wei and Steven Li Tianshao, American employees sold more than 200,000 shares in the three months before the U.S. regulatory announcement.

Meanwhile, AMEC stated on the 18th that executives holding U.S. citizenship are conducting normal company operations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.