(Sept 22): A top executive at ASML Holding NV, Europe’s most valuable company, said it isn’t selling any of its chipmaking machines on the continent and that the region risks getting left behind as the US, China and India invest heavily in developing their domestic semiconductor industries.

“We’re not selling anything at all in Europe. That’s because Europe isn’t investing and because no chip factories are being built there,” ASML executive vice-president Frank Heemskerk, who is responsible for global public affairs, said at an event in Amsterdam late on Monday.

ASML is a lynchpin in the semiconductor supply chain as it’s the only maker of the sophisticated lithography equipment crucial to producing cutting-edge chips. Its machines are used by customers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics Co to print intricate patterns of transistors on silicon wafers and have been key to powering the global artificial intelligence boom. 

The European Union (EU) is overhauling its Chips Act, which came into effect in 2023 in response to the semiconductor shortage during the Covid-19 pandemic and was intended to boost the continent’s share of global production. However, the law largely failed to stimulate investment in new chip plants. The bloc’s auditing body said last year that the EU is unlikely to meet its target to double its market share by 2030.

ASML and the EU’s executive arm have sought ways to boost the bloc’s tech competitiveness, strengthen supply chains and create chip demand. This comes as other countries are investing government funds and using other incentives to promote domestic semiconductor production.

The chip equipment maker is also being aggressively courted to expand its presence in the US, China and India, according to Heemskerk. 

“We need to scale up our production. We aren’t doing that solely in the Netherlands,” he said. “There is a fierce competitive battle to get us to do it somewhere else. What’s important for ASML is that Europe steps up to the plate.” 

China and India “roll out the reddest of red carpets for me and they say, ‘come invest here, too, and set up your factory here’,” Heemskerk said. “We conduct a quarter of our research in the US and they say, ‘can’t that be half?’” 

Europe contributed nothing to ASML’s net system sales in the second quarter. That compares with a 1% slice represented by Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2025. 

South Korea was ASML’s top market for its tools in the first half, followed by Taiwan and China. In May, ASML signed a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Private Ltd which aims at boosting India’s domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. 

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee