Intel’s current chief has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Chinese companies, including rival SMIC

Before taking over as Intel CEO this year, Lip-Bu Tan spent decades investing in a wide range of Chinese companies. The investment fund he founded in 1987, Walden International, specializes in such activities, which explains his financial ties to hundreds of Chinese companies.

Image Source: Intel

Reuters took on the task of analyzing the financial interests of the current head of Intel on the Chinese stock market, which established that through the structures under his control, Lip-Bu Tan owns more than 40 Chinese companies and holds minority stakes in more than 600 Chinese issuers. Moreover, the new head of Intel more than twenty years ago took an active part in the formation of the largest Chinese contract chip manufacturer SMIC, was a member of its board of directors until 2018, and owned shares of this company until 2021. He had to get rid of them at that time due to the introduction of American sanctions against SMIC.

In general, US laws do not prohibit citizens from owning shares in Chinese companies, even if they are associated with the Chinese government or the defense sector, but the relevant issuers must not be on a special list. As Intel representatives explained to Reuters, before taking up the position of CEO Lip-Bu Tan gave written guarantees that the structure of his third-party assets would not create a conflict of interest. Reuters recalls that Intel is a contractor for the US military department to produce chips worth $3 billion, and therefore ties to the Chinese defense complex are not welcomed for executives of such rank.

In addition to the American Walden International, Tan is the founder of two investment companies in Hong Kong: Sakarya Limited and Seine Limited. Working as CEO of Intel does not require Tan to give up his position as chairman of the board of directors of his investment fund Walden International. Tan was still forced to give up some of his Chinese assets before taking over as head of Intel, but the scale of these deals is not disclosed.

Reuters has established that between March 2012 and December 2024, Lip-Bu Tan invested at least $200 million in various Chinese companies involved in the production and design of semiconductor components. Among them were contractors for the Chinese defense ministry. In 2020, six companies in which Tan invested were subject to US sanctions. In total, Walden International invested $161 million in Chinese companies with ties to the Chinese defense industry between 2001 and 2022. Reuters was unable to find evidence that Tan, through entities under his control, is somehow connected to Chinese companies under US sanctions.