Shares in top Chinese chipmakers shed $8.6 billion in market value on Monday, as new US export controls threatened to obstruct Beijing’s plans for technological self-sufficiency, reports the Financial Times. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s largest chipmaker, fell 4% in Hong Kong, while Hua Hong Semiconductor tumbled 9.4% and Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics plunged 20.2%.
The sharp losses came after Washington unveiled new export controls on Friday that restrict the sale of semiconductors made with US technology unless vendors obtain an export license. The controls also bar US citizens or entities from working with Chinese chipmakers without explicit approval and limit the export of manufacturing tools that would allow China to develop its own equipment.
The US commerce department said on Friday that it had added 31 companies to its “unverified list” in an effort to make it more difficult for Chinese companies to manufacture or obtain advanced computer chips vital to cutting-edge technologies.