Asia’s largest semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron says it has largely managed to offset the impact of controls on exports to China by expanding its sales of less advanced products to the country’s chip industry.
The Japanese group has been navigating geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing with a two-track strategy of focusing on regulation-complying products for China while deepening technology development with cutting-edge clients in other key markets.
“Of course, we had some impact [from the Japanese and US export controls], but it was much smaller than we expected,” said Junko Takagi, head of investor relations, in an interview on the sidelines of the Semicon Japan trade show held in the capital this week.