What’s next after China court freezes US$318m in Nexperia assets amid Wingtech battle?

Bitter custody fight sparked by Dutch intervention has affected European supply lines, and assets look to remain frozen for years

A Chinese court’s order to freeze 2.14 billion yuan (US$318 million) in Nexperia-affiliated assets has cemented the operational independence of its Chinese manufacturing engine from its European headquarters, leaving its local facilities increasingly isolated amid a prolonged custody battle.

The Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court in the southern province of Guangdong, where Nexperia’s biggest assembly and test plant is located, has frozen the equity interests in four subsidiaries owned by the Dutch firm, Wingtech said in a Monday filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, equity interests in another Chinese entity owned by Itec BV, a chip tool maker spun off from Nexperia in 2021, have also been frozen.

The ruling, affecting 2.14 billion yuan worth of combined assets across the cities of Dongguan, Shanghai and Wuxi, is due to last for three years, until August 2029.

The move is designed to “protect Chinese subsidiaries’ assets from being transferred or pledged as collateral”, while their daily operations would not be affected, said Luo Zhiyu, a partner at the DeHeng Law Offices in Beijing who specialises in cross-border transactions and overseas listings.