Dutch Court Launches Investigation into Nexperia for Unfair Business Practices

On February 11, the Dutch Commercial Court announced an investigation into unfair business practices at Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor manufacturer with Chinese investment. The court stated that it had “justifiable reasons to be concerned about the company’s healthy operations” and decided to maintain the suspension order placed on Nexperia’s CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, issued in October 2025.

Nexperia was acquired by Wingtech Technology, a major Chinese electronics manufacturer, in 2020. Due to security concerns raised by Zhang Xuezheng, founder of Wingtech and CEO of Nexperia, who planned to close the company’s European factory and attempt to transfer equipment and assets to China, the Dutch government took over the company in September 2025.

As a countermeasure, the Chinese government imposed export controls on Nexperia’s products, causing a global standstill in the supply of automotive semiconductors. Subsequently, with the Chinese government lifting the controls, the Dutch government decided to terminate the takeover in mid-November, but the Dutch court did not lift the suspension order on Zhang Xuezheng.

The court stated that Nexperia’s operations “showed signs of misconduct involving a conflict of interest.” The U.S. government added Wingtech Technology to its export control “Entity List” at the end of 2024. The possibility of Nexperia also being added to the list has increased, with the court finding that “(Zhang Xuezheng) unilaterally changed the strategy without consulting other directors under the threat of sanctions.”

The court investigation is expected to last several months. Due to Zhang Xuezheng’s suspension, the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stefan Tilger, has been appointed interim CEO of Nexperia. According to the new management’s decision, shipments from the European factory producing semiconductor wafers to the Chinese factory responsible for the final processing have been suspended.