Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. retreated to a four-month low in Hong Kong after the U.S. imposed export restrictions on China¡¯s largest chipmaker.
The shares slumped as much as 7.9 percent Monday, adding to their 25 percent loss for the month. Also listed in Shanghai, SMIC¡¯s stock there retreated as much as 6.6 percent to the lowest level since its July debut. U.S. firms must now apply for a license to export certain products to the chipmaker, the Commerce Dept. said in a letter dated Sept. 25. SMIC and its subsidiaries present ¡°an unacceptable risk of diversion to a military end use,¡± the department¡¯s Bureau of Industry and Security wrote.
The U.S. stopped short of placing SMIC on the so-called entity list, which means the restrictions are not yet as severe as those imposed on China¡¯s Huawei Technologies Co. Still, the ruling against the chipmaker marks a further escalation in the tensions between the world¡¯s two most powerful countries that have already ensnared other Chinese tech companies including ByteDance Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
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