A Chinese-controlled company has been ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump to undo an acquisition of United States computer chip assets.
HieFo Corporation received the order on Friday requiring it to reverse the US$2.9 million purchase of parts of U.S.-based manufacturer Emcore.
The White House said the demand was due to HieFo being “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China" and posed a national security concern.
In 2024 the company acquired the digital chip designs, fabrication, and processing businesses of Emcore.
The possibility of diverting the inidium phoshpide chips away from the U.S, has been flagged as a risk, with HieFo ordered to divest all acquired assets within the next 180 days and restrict access to Emcore’s technical information immediately.
In a separate statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said the deal came under review after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was not notified of it.
“CFIUS identified a national security risk arising from the transaction relating to potential access to Emcore’s intellectual property, proprietary know-how, and expertise,” the Treasury Department wrote.
