The Japan Times - China, future HQ: New ASML boss faces bulging in-tray

EUR -
AED 4.081604
AFN 79.563642
ALL 99.812145
AMD 434.84896
ANG 1.989345
AOA 1013.447867
ARS 1193.383186
AUD 1.744564
AWG 2.003004
AZN 1.890005
BAM 1.966501
BBD 2.243423
BDT 135.004588
BGN 1.958869
BHD 0.418844
BIF 3301.942553
BMD 1.111237
BND 1.484658
BOB 7.677951
BRL 6.22326
BSD 1.111106
BTN 94.848677
BWP 15.3769
BYN 3.636101
BYR 21780.242308
BZD 2.231863
CAD 1.559882
CDF 3190.361307
CHF 0.950999
CLF 0.027527
CLP 1056.44229
CNY 8.07658
CNH 8.091666
COP 4604.554359
CRC 559.82541
CUC 1.111237
CUP 29.447777
CVE 110.871305
CZK 25.010637
DJF 197.875381
DKK 7.461944
DOP 70.170787
DZD 147.60784
EGP 56.210775
ERN 16.668553
ETB 146.27175
FJD 2.586792
FKP 0.85645
GBP 0.844662
GEL 3.066512
GGP 0.85645
GHS 17.222949
GIP 0.85645
GMD 80.206966
GNF 9613.066565
GTQ 8.555771
GYD 233.136742
HKD 8.641418
HNL 28.44534
HRK 7.536075
HTG 144.440847
HUF 408.670727
IDR 18576.176581
ILS 4.116005
IMP 0.85645
INR 94.958525
IQD 1453.289909
IRR 46783.26768
ISK 147.134182
JEP 0.85645
JMD 173.141401
JOD 0.787902
JPY 161.59107
KES 143.60963
KGS 96.332741
KHR 4444.695067
KMF 503.003747
KPW 1000.173219
KRW 1624.972291
KWD 0.342621
KYD 0.924089
KZT 558.781461
LAK 24078.816851
LBP 99526.686795
LKR 327.274549
LRD 222.238875
LSL 20.849966
LTL 3.281194
LVL 0.672176
LYD 5.367498
MAD 10.655682
MDL 19.85994
MGA 5126.081933
MKD 63.207503
MMK 2332.990606
MNT 3882.0596
MOP 8.908036
MRU 44.233281
MUR 50.85395
MVR 17.159667
MWK 1926.928267
MXN 22.139739
MYR 4.949173
MZN 70.995904
NAD 20.849966
NGN 1705.914714
NIO 40.889655
NOK 11.429291
NPR 152.004858
NZD 1.903422
OMR 0.427798
PAB 1.111237
PEN 4.082878
PGK 4.540479
PHP 63.438506
PKR 311.277822
PLN 4.262878
PYG 8858.497684
QAR 4.045257
RON 5.089707
RSD 119.812316
RUB 93.613392
RWF 1578.542655
SAR 4.167114
SBD 9.44502
SCR 16.073363
SDG 666.707488
SEK 10.767296
SGD 1.4913
SHP 0.873258
SLE 25.369982
SLL 23302.082381
SOS 633.960021
SRD 40.69424
STD 23000.359268
SVC 9.723545
SYP 14449.081086
SZL 20.849966
THB 37.903158
TJS 12.119875
TMT 3.886702
TND 3.437646
TOP 2.676533
TRY 42.175555
TTD 7.514151
TWD 36.807417
TZS 2940.966644
UAH 45.92151
UGX 4051.406185
USD 1.111237
UYU 46.943979
UZS 14380.794818
VES 77.573106
VND 28524.127159
VUV 137.314864
WST 3.147948
XAF 670.671663
XAG 0.034304
XAU 0.000356
XCD 3.008443
XDR 0.836646
XOF 670.671663
XPF 119.331742
YER 273.259356
ZAR 20.840027
ZMK 10002.46437
ZMW 31.152221
ZWL 357.817813
  • RBGPF

    -0.2800

    67.72

    -0.41%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    9.8

    +0.2%

  • CMSC

    -0.1500

    22.35

    -0.67%

  • CMSD

    -0.1630

    22.667

    -0.72%

  • NGG

    3.7880

    69.568

    +5.45%

  • BCC

    -6.5550

    95.515

    -6.86%

  • RELX

    0.5990

    51.579

    +1.16%

  • BCE

    0.5900

    22.41

    +2.63%

  • JRI

    -0.1800

    12.86

    -1.4%

  • SCS

    -0.5870

    10.873

    -5.4%

  • VOD

    0.2400

    9.36

    +2.56%

  • RIO

    -1.0400

    58.86

    -1.77%

  • GSK

    1.3550

    38.995

    +3.47%

  • AZN

    2.2350

    74.455

    +3%

  • BTI

    1.7900

    42.04

    +4.26%

  • BP

    -2.2300

    31.58

    -7.06%

China, future HQ: New ASML boss faces bulging in-tray
China, future HQ: New ASML boss faces bulging in-tray / Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND - AFP

China, future HQ: New ASML boss faces bulging in-tray

Frenchman Christophe Fouquet takes the reins of Dutch chip giant ASML on Wednesday with a daunting to-do list, top of which will be steering business with China as semiconductors become a geopolitical battleground.

Text size:

ASML's strategic importance in manufacturing machines to make ultra-thin microchips that power much of the world's advanced technology has given it a role far beyond the commercial.

Fouquet will have to navigate choppy political waters as Western powers led by the United States want to crimp Chinese access to such technology fearing it could be used for weapons.

Analysts do not expect a radical shift for ASML under Fouquet -- after a 16-year career at the firm, he was the continuity candidate to replace current CEO Peter Wennink.

"There should be no expectations that I will be turning the tables. I think that what we have been working on for many, many years is still what we want to achieve with ASML," said Fouquet when appointed.

Patting him affectionately on the arm in a corporate video, Wennink said of his 50-year-old successor: "He's been with the company for so long and he knows all our customers, suppliers, people, shareholders."

"He's a known entity."

Born in 1973, Fouquet studied physics in the southeastern French city of Grenoble, giving him the strong theoretical skills required to run a tech company of ASML's stature.

After stints at semiconductor firms KLA Tencor and Applied Materials, he joined ASML in 2008, holding various positions in marketing and product management.

Fouquet spent years running the firm's EUV (extreme ultraviolet) programme of cutting-edge machines that print ultra-thin chips critical for the development of artificial intelligence.

And since 2022, he has been a key right-hand man for Wennink as vice-president and chief business officer.

"Insider Christophe Fouquet is continuity in the flesh," said specialist publication Bits&Chips.

"The Frenchman knows both the company and the industry like the back of his hand."

Simon Coles, ASML analyst at Barclays, told AFP: "I would not expect a change in direction. The new CEO helped set and plan the current strategy, so we'd expect to see a continuation."

- 'Little dark corner' -

Top of Fouquet's concerns will be China. In January, the Dutch government revoked licences for some of ASML's advanced machines, sparking fury in Beijing.

ASML's latest quarterly results showed China accounted for 49 percent of sales but overall orders were weaker than expected, sparking a slump in shares.

Fouquet has previously said it is "extremely difficult and extremely expensive" to decouple the industry's supply chain.

"It's a matter of time until people realise that the only way to be successful in semiconductors is through cooperation," he told financial news outlet Nikkei Asia last year.

"The idea that we could go back to a little dark corner and do it all alone is most probably a very challenging concept."

Closer to home, Fouquet will inevitably become embroiled in a domestic political debate about the future of ASML's headquarters in Veldhoven, seen as the Dutch "Silicon Valley".

After far-right leader Geert Wilders won elections on a pledge to halt immigration, Wennink ruffled feathers by warning that ASML could look elsewhere if it could not find talented immigrant staff.

The Dutch government then unveiled "Operation Beethoven", a charm offensive worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion) designed to keep companies like ASML in the Netherlands.

"ASML is our (Argentine striker Lionel) Messi and such a star player brings a whole team along with them," said Economy Minister Micky Adriaansens when presenting the plan.

The firm and the region around Veldhoven are exploring plans to house around 20,000 employees in the area despite a growing Dutch outcry about expats hogging housing in a crowded Netherlands.

Fouquet is the second Frenchman to run the Dutch firm, after Eric Meurice, and trade publication Bits&Chips said his nationality could cut both ways.

While he could be at a disadvantage dealing with Dutch politicians, "his French origins could help on the international stage, on which geopolitical storms continue wreaking havoc", it wrote.

"France stands for a proud and self-confident Europe, so when it comes to curbing American interference, such as export measures, the new ASML CEO will invariably find the French president on his side."

H.Takahashi--JT