Johnson may block Chinese takeover of UK’s largest computer chip maker

Post-Brexit trade adviser Tony Abbott heartened' by review into takeover of Newport Wafer Fab

Boris Johnson may block a Chinese-owned company from purchasing the UK's largest producer of semiconductors, a senior government adviser has suggested, as they warned Beijing was on the brink of initiating a new cold war".

Tony Abbott, the former prime minister of Australia recruited by Johnson to advise on post-Brexit trade, said he was heartened by a review being launched into the takeover of Welsh microchip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia and suggested it meant the process could be paused.

The global shortage in semiconductors, the microchips that are an essential component in every electronic device in the world, started as a temporary delay in supplies as chip factories shut down when the coronavirus pandemic first hit.

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