Japan’s Sony and Kioxia emerged as the latest companies to apply for a special US licence required to supply components to Huawei, Nikkei Asian Review reported, after sanctions were tightened on the vendor last month.

The two Japanese companies join major chipmakers, including Qualcomm, Micron Technology, Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix, Macronix, SMIC and MediTek, which have all also submitted applications for the waiver.

So far, only Intel has publicly stated it has had its application granted.

Nikkei reported that there was no indication as yet that the latest pair have had their applications approved.

Sony and Kioxia face a risk to their earnings if they were unable to deal with Huawei, with both companies supplying components for a range of products, including 5G devices.

Huawei makes up about a fifth of Sony’s US$9.5 billion sales in image sensors, making it the company’s second biggest customer after Apple.

Toshiba spinoff Kioxia also faces a hit, with smartphone memory chips providing 40 per cent of the company’s sales, a large share of which comes from Huawei.

The toughened sanctions, which went into force on 15 September, require companies to obtain a special licence to make a transaction with Huawei or a listed affiliate, for any equipment made using US technology. https://www.mobileworldlive.com