The Chinese have pushed Newport Wafer Fab to the brink of bankruptcy

A row over the controversial takeover of British computer chipmaker Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) has intensified after a former director accused its Chinese-backed owners of pushing the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

Claim: Malcolm Penn served on the Board of Directors of Newport Wafer Fab until his acquisition last year

Malcolm Penn, who served on Newport’s board until its acquisition last year, said current owner Nexperia, a Dutch firm owned by Chinese group Wingtech, was “watching on” while the company suffered from cash flow problems, which it did forced it into bankruptcy and “opened the door to a hostile takeover.”

He added that Nexperia, which was previously a major client of NWF, had refused to give the company access to a loan and a multimillion-pound injection from a UK private equity fund, the Sunday Times reported .