"US AMAT Sells Semiconductor Equipment to China 'Without Authorization' via Korean Subsidiary"

Under Investigation by U.S. Department of Justice... Stock Price Plummets 7% After Report

U.S. semiconductor equipment company Applied Materials (AMAT) is reportedly under investigation by U.S. authorities for exporting products to Chinese semiconductor company SMIC without U.S. government approval.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 16th (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating AMAT for selling equipment without authorization to SMIC, which the Department of Commerce has designated as a semiconductor export restriction target.

Sources reported that AMAT shipped equipment produced in Massachusetts, U.S., multiple times to its subsidiary in South Korea, and the equipment was then delivered from South Korea to SMIC. The equipment sales took place in 2021 and 2022, after the Department of Commerce designated export restrictions in December 2020, and the scale is known to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The U.S. designated SMIC as an export restriction target in December 2020, judging that SMIC is related to the Chinese military. Accordingly, U.S. companies need government approval to sell certain semiconductor equipment to SMIC.

Earlier in October last year, AMAT disclosed that it had received an information request from the Massachusetts District Attorney's Office regarding sales to a specific Chinese customer and was cooperating with the investigation.

In a statement, AMAT said, "The company is cooperating with the government and is committed to complying with global laws, including export controls and trade regulations."

Following the report, AMAT's stock price plunged more than 7% in after-hours trading.

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