Intel obtains US licenses to supply some products to Huawei

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Intel Corp INTC.CO has received licenses from the US authorities to continue supplying certain products to Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], an Intel spokesman said Tuesday.

With ties between the United States and China at their worst in decades, Washington has been pressuring governments around the world to expel Huawei, arguing that the telecommunications giant would hand over data to the Chinese government for espionage.

Since September 15, new restrictions have prevented US companies from supplying or servicing Huawei.

This week, the state-backed China Securities Journal said Intel had received permission to supply Huawei.

Last week China International Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation 0981.HK confirmed that it had also requested permission to continue providing services to Huawei. SMIC uses US-sourced equipment to make chips for Huawei and other companies.

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix 000660.KS It also applied for a US license for Huawei sales but did not get approval, a person familiar with the matter said.

The person, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said non-U.S. Companies may not have a high probability of obtaining American approval, and chipmakers are drawing up contingency plans to increase the supply to other customers.

SK Hynix declined to comment.

In August, Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek Inc 2454.TW revealed that it had requested permission from the US government to continue supplying Huawei from China.

Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former engineer in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, denies that it spies on Beijing and says the United States is trying to smear it because Western companies are falling behind in 5G technology.

In what some observers have compared to the Cold War arms race, the United States is concerned that 5G dominance will give China an advantage that Washington is not ready to accept.