China’s Leading Chipmaker AMEC Says its Inclusion onto CMC List Unreasonable

BEIJING, February 5 (TMTPOST)—Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China (AMEC) says that its inclusion onto the Chinese Military Companies (CMC) list by the U.S. is unreasonable.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) added AMEC to the CMC list at the end of January in accordance with Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

In the statement, the company said it has always operated in a lawful and compliant manner and strictly complied with domestic and international laws and regulations relating to its business. At the same time, AMEC has neither connection with the military nor military investments; AMEC does not provide products and services for any military end-users. All of AMEC's products and services are used for civilian or commercial purpose. The inclusion of AMEC in the CMC list by DOD is “completely irrational,” which is contrary to objective facts and lacks evidence.

The CMC list is not linked to any specific sanctions, and will have no material impact on AMEC's operation. AMEC's current production operations, products and components import and export, customer support and other business activities are all normal, and AMEC will continue to provide its customers with world leading products and first-class services, according to the statement.

On January 14, 2021, the Pentagon listed AMEC in the "Communist Chinese Military Companies (CCMC)" list. Upon AMEC's effective communications with substantial evidence, DOD removed AMEC from the list on June 3, 2021. AMEC will take effective measures to prove that AMEC is not a military-related company in order to protect the interests of AMEC, its partners and shareholders.

AMEC is China's leading provider of process technologies, tools and expertise that help global manufacturers of semiconductors and LEDs achieve their innovation, production, and profit goals. More than 3,000 AMEC process stations, comprising both product lines, have been installed at leading customer fabs across Asia and Europe.

The company expects a revenue of approximately 6.26 billion yuan in 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of around 32.1%. The projected net profit attributable to the parent company is expected to be between 1.7 billion yuan and 1.85 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year surge of about 45.32% to 58.15%. The anticipated new order amount for 2023 is approximately 8.36 billion yuan, with a year-on-year jump of around 32.3%, according to the performance forecast released on January 14.

At Monday’s opening, the stock price of AMEC edged down by around 0.75%. As of the press time, it dropped approximately 5% to 106.6 yuan per share, implying a market value of 66.015 billion yuan.

(1 yuan equals US$ 0.14)