Japanese firms among biggest victims of US ban on Huawei

Tokyo

JAPANESE electronics component makers, such as Taiyo Yuden Co and TDK Corp, are among the biggest victims of the US-China trade war as the Trump administration bans US companies from working with Huawei Technologies Co.

Taiyo Yuden stock tumbled 26 per cent this month, heading for its steepest monthly drop since June 2016, and TDK plunged 23 per cent, set for the worst month since October 2008. They are among May's worst decliners in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average. Both companies are estimated to get about 10 per cent of their sales from Huawei, according to Mizuho Securities Co.

Tech and chip shares have slumped as US President Donald Trump ratcheted up his battle with China for dominance of 5G technology networks. The president signed an order last week that's expected to restrict Huawei and fellow Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp from selling their equipment in the US.

The turmoil may spread to more Japanese companies as the US mulls cutting off the flow of vital American technology to five Chinese firms including Hikvision and Megvii, widening a dragnet beyond Huawei to include leaders in video surveillance.

"There's a tendency that the technology battle between the US and China will intensify," said Masahiro Ayukai, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co in Tokyo. "China is refraining from taking sanctions for now, but the market is staying alert." BLOOMBERG