The Chinese concern Wingtech, which owns the Dutch semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia, explored the possibility of selling the company's European factories, but gave up on it due to the inability to do so. A representative of the organization announced this during a hearing in the Nexperia case at the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam.
“Project Rainbow (which included the sale of the factories) was intended to better prepare for possible instability in the supply chain in the future“, said Wingtech's lawyer, noting that the plan to sell the factories in Hamburg and Manchester was indeed analyzed, but was considered unrealistic and therefore did not make further progress.
According to a representative of Nexperia Nederland, the discussed sale “was supposed to be completed by the end of 2025“, while other board members were allegedly not informed of the Chinese concern's plans. For its part, Wingtech's lawyer rejected the Dutch company's accusations of “moving operations outside of Europe“, emphasizing that the Rainbow project is not aimed at geographical reallocation of assets, but rather at risk management in the face of potential external constraints.
The hearing in the Nexperia case began on the morning of January 14 at the Corporate Disputes Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. The court will determine whether there are grounds to open a formal investigation into alleged mismanagement of the company, as well as to maintain or review the restrictive measures imposed against Nexperia. Key elements of the case include an order for silicon wafers from WingSkySemi, which, according to the complainants, could have “significantly exceeded“ the amount of the order. Nexperia's needs and impact on financial flows within the group.
On October 12, 2025, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the application of the “goods availability law“ against Nexperia - a measure used in exceptional cases to protect strategic assets. Two days later, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled to remove Nexperia CEO Zhang Xuezhen from office and appoint an interim director in his place. All but one of Nexperia Holding's shares were placed under the management of an independent manager. In response, China imposed export restrictions on Nexperia, prohibiting the company's Chinese subsidiary and its subcontractors from exporting certain components outside the country.