Netherlands seeks to prevent ASML expansion abroad, report says
- The efforts stem from talks between ASML and Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet in which the company said it was considering an expansion, possibly in France
- Government proposals to curb the inflow of foreign students and shrink a tax break that attracted expatriates to the country have drawn the ire of several companies
The Dutch government is exploring ways to keep ASML Holding – Europe’s most valuable technology company – from expanding outside the Netherlands after the chip-machinery maker raised concerns about the country’s business climate.
The government has formed a task force dubbed “Beethoven” to address ASML’s concerns about its supply of skilled workers, environmental regulations and electricity supplies, people familiar with the situation said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public.
The efforts stem from talks between ASML and Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet in which the Veldhoven-based company said it was considering an expansion outside the Netherlands, possibly in France, De Telegraaf reported Wednesday.
It is unclear whether ASML actually has any concrete plans to expand outside of its headquarters in the Netherlands. But its concerns echo those of other Dutch companies that have left the country in recent years and ratchets up pressure on Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party after his surprise election victory last year. Wilders, who has yet to form a government, campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.
“We have to come to the conclusion that we can grow responsibly in the Netherlands. And we have not yet drawn that conclusion,” ASML chief executive Peter Wennink said at a technology conference on Wednesday, Dutch press agency ANP reported. He added that he plans to speak with Rutte.