These Japanese Firms Are Among Biggest Victims of U.S. Ban on Huawei
These Japanese Firms Are Among Biggest Victims of U.S. Ban on Huawei
(Bloomberg) -- Japanese electronics component makers, such as Taiyo Yuden Co. and TDK Corp., are among the biggest victims of the U.S.-China trade war as the Trump administration bans U.S. companies from working with Huawei Technologies Co.
Taiyo Yuden stock tumbled about 26% this month, heading for its steepest monthly drop since June 2016, and TDK plunged 23%, set for the worst month since October 2008. They are among May’s worst decliners in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average. TDK is estimated to get about 10% of its sales from Huawei, Mizuho Securities Co. wrote in a report on May 17. Taiyo Yuden gets about 5-10% of revenues from the Chinese company, according to an updated Mizuho report on May 21.
Tech and chip shares have slumped as President Donald Trump ratcheted up his battle with China for dominance of 5G technology networks. The president signed an order last week that’s expected to restrict Huawei and fellow Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. from selling their equipment in the U.S.
The turmoil may spread to more Japanese companies as the U.S. mulls cutting off the flow of vital American technology to five Chinese firms including Hikvision and Megvii, widening a dragnet beyond Huawei to include leaders in video surveillance.
“There’s a tendency that the technology battle between the U.S. and China will intensify,” said Masahiro Ayukai, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. in Tokyo. “China is refraining from taking sanctions for now, but the market is staying alert.”
Here’s a list of Japanese equipment makers for electronic components and semiconductors that get a significant portion of their sales from Huawei:
| Estimated percent of revenue from Huawei | Electronic component makers |
| About 10% | TDK |
| About 5-10% | Taiyo Yuden |
| About 5% | Murata Manufacturing, Hirose Electric |
| 0%–5% | Minebea Mitsumi |
| Estimated percent of specified revenue from which the end user is Huawei | Semiconductor makers |
| 10%–12% of tester sales | Advantest |
| 6%–7% of SPE sales | Tokyo Electron, SCREEN, and Hitachi High-Technologies |
(Source: Mizuho Securities Co.)
To contact the reporters on this story: Keiko Ujikane in Tokyo at kujikane@bloomberg.net;Toshiro Hasegawa in Tokyo at thasegawa6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Naoto Hosoda, Teo Chian Wei
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