Chinas top chipmaker reports Q2 plunge in profits [Video]

Leading Chinese chipmaker SMIC announced Thursday a sharp year-on-year drop in profits during the second quarter, as a domestic price war and technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington show no signs of abating.

The United States has in recent years taken steps to cut off Chinese firms from accessing its technology and has tightened restrictions on semiconductor exports to the world’s second-largest economy.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which is listed in Hong Kong and its home city Shanghai, has been a primary target of these measures.

Beijing, which has sought to boost the country’s ability to mass-produce advanced chips on its own, maintains that the US measures are aimed at preserving its own supremacy in the vital sector.

SMIC said Thursday in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its second-quarter profit attributable to owners stood at $164.6 million, dropping 59.1 percent compared to the same period …