Shares of chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) jumped after reports that China’s Ministry of Commerce is taking another look at Qualcomm Inc’s (NASDAQ:QCOM) takeover bid, as per a Bloomberg News report.
Qualcomm is looking to buy the Dutch semiconductor manufacturer for US$44bn, or US$127.50 per share, but Chinese regulators are concerned about what the deal would mean for competition in the chipmaker market.
Chinese officials had been reviewing Qualcomm’s bid, but the application was on the back burner amidst mounting trade tensions with the US.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he would work with China’s president to help ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company that was banned from buying U.S. components, signaling a possible step back from a looming trade war.
President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018
READ: ZTE says US export ban threatens its survival
The U.S. Commerce Department issued an export ban for the next seven years after alleging that ZTE lied during an investigation last year into shipments of telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea, which resulted in the Chinese company paying a US$1.2bln fine, as per a Reuters report.
Shares of NXP were up more than 13% to US$112.01 while shares of Qualcomm were up nearly 3% to US$56.79.