The U.S.** has asked Applied Materials to provide information about its shipments to Chinese customers, a sensitive topic that is back in the spotlight as Washington tries to block access to advanced semiconductor equipment. After the news broke, the after-hours stock price of the material was about 2%.
Applied said Tuesday that multiple agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Massachusetts Attorney's Office, issued multiple subpoenas to the company in February.
Previously, the U.S. Department of Commerce and other agencies made similar requests in 2022. At that time, Biden began to escalate his sanctions, hoping to stop the flow of advanced chips into China.
In November last year, Reuters reported that Ying Cai was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating export controls on SMIC.
Ying Cai did not provide a detailed description of the recent subpoenas, saying only that "we are cooperating fully with ** on these matters" and that "there are still uncertainties about these issues, and we cannot ** the outcome or reasonably estimate the related losses or potential penalties".
Even with the sanctions, semiconductor equipment manufacturers, including Applied, are now generating more revenue from China than ever before, given China's demand for electronics and the fact that local companies are actively hoarding inventories ahead of the escalation of sanctions.