Category: 3. Business

A battle for control of a little-known chipmaker has threatened global auto production by choking off the semiconductor supply chain, though there are signs the crisis is inching toward a resolution.

The power struggle over Nexperia, a Chinese-owned Dutch semiconductor maker, highlights how technology supply chain vulnerabilities are squeezing auto makers, most notably forcing Honda to halt production at a Mexican factory making its popular HR-V crossover for North American markets. It also exposes how Europe is caught in the middle of the wider geopolitical showdown between Washington and Beijing.

Here’s a look at the dispute:

The turmoil erupted into public view in mid-October, when the Dutch government announced it had invoked a rarely used World War II-era law to take effective control of Nexperia weeks earlier.

The Dutch ministry of economic affairs said it took action because of national security concerns. Officials said they intervened because of “serious governance shortcomings” at Nexperia, asserting control to prevent the loss of crucial tech know-how that could threaten Europe’s economic security.

Nexperia’s Chinese owner Wingtech Technology, a partially state-owned company, is at the heart of the dispute. Amid the boardroom battle, a Dutch court granted the ministry’s request to oust Nexperia’s Chinese CEO Zhang Xuezheng. American officials told the Dutch government he would have to be replaced to avoid trade restrictions, according to a court filing.

Nexperia makes simple semiconductors such as switches and logic chips. The auto industry — one of Nexperia’s biggest markets — uses its chips for numerous functions, such as adaptive LED headlight controllers, electric vehicle battery management systems and anti-lock brakes.

Headquartered in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, Nexperia was spun off from Philips Semiconductors two decades ago. It was eventually purchased by China’s Wingtech Technology in 2018 for $3.6 billion.

Nexperia has wafer fabrication plants in Britain and Germany. It operates an assembly and testing center in China’s southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong — which accounts for around 70% of its end-product capacity — and similar centers in the Philippines and Malaysia.

The dispute is part of the broader struggle between the U.S. and China over tech supremacy, which has left Europe caught in the middle.

It stems from Washington’s decision late last year to place Wingtech on its “entity list,” which subjects companies to export controls because of national security risks. In late September, the U.S. expanded that list to Wingtech’s subsidiaries, including Nexperia, pressuring allies to follow suit.

After the Dutch government asserted control of Nexperia, Beijing responded soon after, blocking the export of Nexperia chips from its assembly plant in the Chinese city of Dongguan. It blamed the Netherlands for “turmoil and chaos” in the chip supply chain.

There were signs of hope following last month’s high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, when the White House said Beijing would ease the export ban as part of a U.S.-China trade truce.

Despite Beijing also confirming exports would be allowed to resume, Nexperia’s Chinese unit said headquarters suspended shipments of wafers used to make chips to its Chinese factory, potentially crimping its ability to deliver finished products.

Nexperia’s head office hit back in a statement Wednesday, saying the Chinese unit refused to pay for the wafers and accused it of “ignoring the lawful instructions” from its global management team. The company said it can’t guarantee the quality of any chips delivered from its China plant since Oct. 13.

Modern automobiles rely on so-called discrete chips made by companies like Nexperia, which, unlike more advanced microprocessors, perform a single function. Leaders at big carmakers spelled out their worries in the latest round of earnings calls, saying that finding a replacement for Nexperia at scale in the short term will be difficult.

“While Nexperia makes up only about 5% of the automotive silicon discrete market in term of revenue, its share is much higher in terms of discrete chip volume,” S&P Global Mobility analysts wrote in a recent note.

Nexperia’s parts are widely used across vehicle systems — often dozens to hundreds per vehicle — and carmakers in North America, Japan and South Korea are at risk, they added.

“It’s an industrywide issue. A quick breakthrough is really necessary to avoid fourth quarter production losses for the entire industry,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra warned that production could be hit. The company has “teams working around the clock with our supply chain partners to minimize possible disruptions,” she said.

Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa told CNBC that the company is setting aside a 25 billion yen ($163 million) provision for supply risks, in part to “absorb” the impact from the Nexperia crisis on production.

Mercedes-Benz is “scurrying around the world to look for alternatives,” CEO Ola Kallenius said. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said members including BMW, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo have been forced to use their reserve stockpiles of chips and warned of assembly line stoppages if they run out.

The European Union’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, on Saturday noted “encouraging progress,” writing on X that China’s Commerce Ministry had confirmed “further simplification” of export procedures for Nexperia chips to the EU and global customers.

In Beijing, the Commerce Ministry also said Saturday that it agreed to a Dutch request to send representatives to China for “consultations.”

But it noted that the Netherlands had not taken any concrete actions yet to restore the global semiconductor supply chain since the Dutch government said days earlier it would take “appropriate steps on our part where necessary.”

Economics Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans had said in that statement that “the Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers over the coming days.”

Honda has received word that Nexperia’s shipments from China have resumed, Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara told reporters Friday. He said the Japanese automaker expects to resume production during the week of Nov. 21 at its plant in Celaya, Mexico, which can make up to 200,000 vehicles a year.

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AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

The chair of the ABC has warned that AI could become “dangerous and sinister” considering some who finance it hold views that are “extremely autocratic”.

Kim Williams, who has been chair of the national broadcaster since March 2024, is a prolific user of various AI applications, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, saying it is important for people to understand the technology.

“I make myself use it and try to understand it … I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I’m certainly actively, passionately interested because it’s the next major technology that is going to change our world,” he told Guardian Australia.

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“As with all technology, this is an immensely useful tool. But it’s a tool and we should not treat it as so many others … have: in a rather undisciplined, romantic way.”

Williams warned that technology can encompass the values of those who create or control it, and said he was concerned what this might mean for AI.

“There are many value constructs that are reflected in AI that can be seen in some ways as being potentially dangerous and sinister,” he said.

“Many of the participants in the financing – and even in the origination and leadership of some of the AI [companies] – have unusually severe views of human organisation and politics, and in some instances … have views that are extremely autocratic, and believe in an anointed few being in charge of the many.”

Williams said that as a believer in democracy and the contest of ideas, it’s “clearly immensely socially dangerous” for people to limit and censor the views of those they disagree with.

“We should not underestimate the potency and power of these technologies – and we are seeing living examples of the technologies in the hands of some governments, where we have real life demonstrations of just how dangerous this can be.”

Asked whether, he thought media organisations – including News Corp and the Guardian – should be signing deals with AI companies, Williams said everyone needed to carry the responsibility of using these technologies with a sense of the public and national interest.

“I speak about it openly with colleagues because I think these things are immensely important.”

AI companies failed to insert a text and mining data exemption into Australian copyright law, which would have allowed them to train AI on creative works without paying for it. Last month, the Albanese government ruled out introducing such an exemption.

Williams, who chaired the Copyright Agency for six years said people have a right to derive income from their creative work.

“Anything that is going to compromise that is not cool, and it’s not acceptable, and that is, as far as I know, illegal,” he said.

“And it should get the full … defence and prosecution by government. You’ve got to pay people who have invested their lifetimes in creating works.”

Williams said he saw AI as potentially devastating for entry-level jobs in industries such as accounting or law, but he believed the effect on journalism jobs would not be as damaging.

“I think the impact on journalism will probably be a lot more benign. Well, actually, a lot more positive than people think because journalists are smart, perspicacious people, and they’ll figure out ways that AI will actually make them better and stronger and will improve journalism,” he said.

“But boy, in so many other areas, I just think it can be an employment destroyer.”

Story Continues

• WBCSD launches the Emissions Reduction Accelerator (ERA), a new platform to mobilize business-led, value chain decarbonization at scale.
• ERA pilots will target high-impact interventions for green fertilizers and net zero built assets.
• The business case: ERA’s value chain approach to decarbonization can lower costs, boost resilience, unlock new markets, and strengthen stakeholder trust.
• A Sao Paolo roundtable convened senior executives to endorse ERA, commit to pilot engagement, and shape collective action.
• WBCSD calls on members and forward-looking businesses to engage and help close the emissions gap by 2030.

Sao Paolo, 8 November 2025: The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has launched its Emissions Reduction Accelerator (ERA), an accelerator designed to mobilize collective business action and unlock value chain decarbonization at scale. ERA was formally introduced as part of the build up to COP30, with the announcement of two flagship value chain pilots focused on scaling emissions reduction in agriculture and the built environment.

A strong business case for value chain decarbonization

ERA is not just a climate imperative – it is a business opportunity. According to a report co-authored by WBCSD and EY, WBCSD members and their value chains account for as much as 15.05 Gt CO₂e (89% of which are Scope 3) – approximately a quarter of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. By focusing on value chain (Scope 3) emissions, companies can address their largest climate impact, while also unlocking tangible business benefits: lower operational costs, enhanced supply chain resilience, improved stakeholder trust, access to new markets, and a lower cost of capital.

Decarbonizing value chains is increasingly demanded by regulators, investors, and customers, and companies that lead will be best positioned for growth and competitiveness.

Two value chain pilots:

Lowering emissions from fertilizer production and use, and net-zero commercial real estate assets

ERA’s initial pilots will target two of the highest-impact value chains: agriculture and the built environment.

The first pilot will focus on lowering emissions from fertilizers, a major source of GHGs in the agri-food value chain. By mapping and engaging all relevant actors – from input providers to farmers to food brands – the pilot will test and scale solutions such as green fertilizers and improved use efficiency, with the potential for global spillover.

The second pilot will address the supply and demand for net zero asset buildings. With the built environment responsible for a significant share of global emissions, this pilot will bring together owners, occupiers, solution providers, and financiers to overcome barriers to retrofitting and decarbonizing real estate assets, including manufacturing facilities, logistics hubs, offices, and data centers.

Sao Paolo high level ERA Roundtable:

A launch moment for collective action

In the lead-up to COP30, WBCSD convened a roundtable in Sao Paolo, bringing together senior business executives from member companies, partners, and invited guests. The session showcased ERA as WBCSD’s platform to accelerate value-chain decarbonization and unlock business value. Key insights from the WBCSD–EY analysis and value-chain mapping by McKinsey were presented, demonstrating clear implementation pathways for the pilots.

Key outcomes:

• Broad endorsement: Participants expressed strong support for ERA’s collaborative approach, recognizing the need for collective action to address scope 3 emissions and unlock business value.
• Pilot engagement: Several companies and partners committed to engaging in the 2026 pilots, contributing expertise and resources to shape the design and implementation of interventions.
• Enabling Conditions: The discussion highlighted the critical role of data, standards, finance, policy, and technology – including AI – in enabling and accelerating emissions reduction across complex value chains.
• Next Steps: WBCSD invited all interested stakeholders to participate in the pilot design phase and contribute to shaping ERA.

A call to action

The next five years must be the years of decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. This is why accelerating emissions reduction has become a priority focus for WBCSD. We are entering a transformative era shaped by the rapid development of artificial intelligence. These two forces – decarbonization and digitalization – are converging. Acted on consciously and collectively, they can reshape competitiveness, innovation, and impact. Done well, decarbonizing business value chains lowers costs, enhances resilience, mitigates risks, and unlocks new opportunities for growth and investment for all. Climate leadership today must go beyond commitments – no company can reach net zero alone. Collective mobilization across value chains is essential.

– Peter Bakker, President and CEO, WBCSD

ERA is a platform built by business, for business. By engaging with ERA, companies can not only accelerate their own decarbonization journeys but also strengthen their competitiveness, resilience, and long-term value. I invite all WBCSD members and forward-looking businesses everywhere: join us, help design and deliver the ERA pilots, and be part of the business-led transformation that will define the next decade. Together, we can turn ambition into action and deliver real impact for climate and for business.

– Dominic Waughray, Executive Vice President, WBCSD

WBCSD calls on all companies, partners, and stakeholders to join the Emissions Reduction Accelerator and help deliver the business-led solutions needed to close the emissions gap by 2030.

Junk bond investors are getting more skittish about risk.

An index of CCC rated bonds in the US has dropped nearly 0.8% over the month ended Thursday, underperforming the broader high-yield market as investors increasingly avoid the riskiest debt. Distressed US dollar loans jumped to $71.8 billion at the end of October — the highest since President Donald Trump outlined his tariff policy in April.