According to CCTV Finance, Asma, a Dutch lithography machine company, plans to leave and relocate its headquarters from the Netherlands, which has recently attracted attention. The Dutch government recently announced that to ensure that Asma does not relocate its business to other countries, it will allocate 2.5 billion euros (approximately 19.5 billion yuan) to retain Asma.
According to the plan, this fund will be used in the next few years to improve infrastructure such as housing, education, transportation, and power grid in Eindhoven, where Asma headquarters is located. In addition, the Dutch government stated in a statement that they will also take action to reduce the tax burden on businesses.
Asma is the world's largest manufacturer of lithography machines and the only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines. And lithography machines are the key equipment for manufacturing chips. Asma welcomes the Dutch government's plan. However, Asma responded in an email that the decision they need to make is not whether to stay, but where to develop.
ASML was born in 1984 in the Dutch town of Eindhoven and has been established for 40 years now. This company currently almost monopolizes the global market share of lithography machines and holds the lifeline of manufacturing advanced chips. The Netherlands also holds a pivotal position in the global semiconductor industry due to ASML.
The Netherlands launches the "Beethoven Action" to retain
According to sources, this plan, codenamed "Operation Beethoven," is mainly aimed at preventing Asma from relocating overseas to attract talented employees. Asma Company produces machines for manufacturing semiconductor chips. This funding will be provided by the Dutch government and the surrounding area of Eindhoven in the eastern Netherlands, where the Asma company is located.
According to the All Netherlands News Agency, Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Miki Adriansens said, "This is one of the most important businesses in the Netherlands and a global player. Asma is like Messi, a star player like Messi can bring a complete team."
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The Dutch government said, "In implementing these measures, the government believes that Asma will further invest in the Netherlands and retain its legal, tax, and actual office registration locations in the Netherlands."
Asma has 42000 employees worldwide, of which more than half work in the Netherlands. A considerable portion of these employees come from abroad. The "Smart Port" region is known as the "Silicon Valley" of the Netherlands, with not only Asma, but also multiple technology companies such as Philips.
The Netherlands has always been considered a good place for doing business, with a free economy and a well-educated and English speaking workforce. However, in February, a report released by the Dutch Employers Association indicated that the business environment was deteriorating.
The report states that nearly half (44%) of surveyed entrepreneurs do not believe that the Netherlands is an attractive and suitable country for business, and nearly 20% are considering leaving the Netherlands. A year ago, these two proportions were 28% and 13%, respectively.
However, in recent years, the wave of multinational corporations withdrawing has become a major hidden danger in the Netherlands. In 2020, daily cosmetics giant Unilever announced a restructuring, no longer adopting a dual headquarters structure in the Netherlands and the UK, and relocating its only headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK.
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The following year, energy giant Shell Oil also decided to relocate its headquarters from The Hague, Netherlands to London, UK, ending the nearly 100 year old foundation of its headquarters in the Netherlands.
The successive departures of giants have also raised concerns for the government. In January of this year, a study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Finance to market consulting firms showed that one-third of Dutch multinational companies will consider transferring their businesses overseas within the next two years. If these companies withdraw from the Netherlands, it will inevitably have a huge impact on multiple fields, including the semiconductor industry.
Lithography machine, the "pearl on the crown"
The lithography machine is known as the "crown jewel" of the integrated circuit industry and is a key machine equipment for manufacturing electronic chips such as mobile phones and computers. Public information shows that Asma, headquartered in the Netherlands, is the world's largest lithography machine manufacturer, occupying up to 80% of the high-end lithography machine market share. Asma is the world's only supplier of EUV lithography equipment required for manufacturing the most advanced process chips, such as 3nm, 5nm, and 7nm chips, by global chip manufacturers.
According to financial report data, in the fourth quarter of 2023, Asma's net sales reached 7.2 billion euros, gross profit margin was 51.4%, and net profit reached a historic high of 2.048 billion euros, exceeding market expectations. Driven by the demand for advanced lithography machines from AI, Asma's order amount in the fourth quarter of last year was 9.2 billion euros, a 2.5-fold increase from 2.6 billion euros in the third quarter of last year, setting a new historical high. The order amount for EUV lithography machines reached 5.6 billion euros. Among them, sales in the Chinese market have increased significantly.
Driven by AI, Asma's EUV lithography machine orders have reached a historic high, highlighting the optimistic prospects of Intel, Samsung, and TSMC. Wen Ningke pointed out that artificial intelligence will become the main driving force for its and downstream customer business growth.
In 2023, Asma's net sales reached 27.6 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 23.2%, with a gross profit margin of 51.3%, a year-on-year increase of 0.8 percentage points; The net profit was 7.8 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 28.3%. The total amount of undelivered orders reached 39 billion euros. Asma announced record breaking orders, thanks to strong demand in the Chinese market. According to customs data cited by First Financial, the total import value of semiconductor manufacturing equipment from the Netherlands in 2023 was about 6 billion US dollars, accounting for about 20% of Asma's net sales for the entire year of 2023.
Asma, Nikon, and Canon are the three leading companies in the global lithography industry, occupying the vast majority of market share. Among them, Asma is absolutely leading in high-end immersive DUVs and EUVs, Nikon also has a small shipment in immersive DUVs, and Canon focuses on the mid to low-end field.
