SINGAPORE: The ongoing chips saga involving Nvidia and Megaspeed could soon make things trickier for Singapore in the semiconductor space, observers told CNA.
Mr Matthias Hendrichs, a Singapore-based adviser to AI companies, noted that Singapore has deep ties with both the US and China, and authorities in Singapore have said companies have to manage the risk of foreign rules that apply to them.
“The tricky part is that Washington increasingly wants to know who’s using the chips, even when they’re sitting in a data centre outside China,” he said on Thursday (Nov 12).
“Singapore can keep doing business with both sides, but on this particular technology it’ll have less room to manoeuvre.”
The experts’ comments come as controversy continues to swirl around Nvidia, days after the chip giant first launched a probe into whether former chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted in a foreign intelligence operation.
The New York Times had earlier reported that Mr Huang had an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based tech firm Megaspeed. US authorities’ investigations into Ms Huang previously concluded she was acting as a Chinese intelligence asset.
Megaspeed was suspected of helping Beijing to gain access to advanced semiconductors from the US, which are barred from being shipped to China.
Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian, of the National University of Singapore’s political science department, noted that the Nvidia-Megaspeed case is not the only one relating to Singapore.
Five people have been charged in Singapore over an alleged fraud conspiracy linked to Nvidia chips.
Nine people were arrested during raids by Singapore authorities after media reports claimed that intermediaries in Singapore were involved in the illegal movement of Nvidia chips to China, bypassing US export controls.
“These incidents add to a perception of ‘Singapore washing’, creating an impression where seemingly dubious commercial activity can take place in Singapore – whether to do with semiconductors or other matters,” he told CNA on Friday.
But Dr Chong also pointed out that while Singapore has said it does not implement unilateral export controls imposed by foreign jurisdictions, this does not mean it is unable to, which are “very different” and is a distinction to note.