German economy minister: Chinese investment in German semiconductor industry will face higher barriers

German Economy Ministry Robert Habeck said today that Chinese investment in Germany's semiconductor industry faces higher barriers, adding that this also applies to the planned acquisition of the Elmos chip factory.

Dortmund-based chip maker Elmos said the German government is likely to block Chinese companies from buying the Elmos chip factory.

The German economy ministry has reportedly been reviewing Elmos's sale of the plant to rival Silex, a controlled Swedish subsidiary of Saiwei Electronics.

Elmos said the deal is among "new developments" that "will likely be banned".

In fact, the German economy ministry had "represented to the parties that the deal is likely to be approved".

However, Elmos recently said it would review next steps "once the final assessment is received".