Tech war: Hong Kong maker of Nvidia graphics cards PC Partner moves to Singapore

The 27-year-old company said it has moved its headquarters to Singapore, where it made a secondary listing, amid chip supply chain pressure

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Zotac graphics card housing an GeForce RTX 4090, Nvidia’s top-of-the-line consumer chip that is banned from export to China. Zotac is one of the main brands from PC Partner. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:39pm, 18 Nov 2024Updated: 9:20pm, 18 Nov 2024

Hong Kong computer electronics manufacturer PC Partner Group, a large assembler of graphics cards using Nvidia chips, has become the latest company to scale back from mainland China amid intensifying tech supply chain pressure.

The company said in a statement on Friday that it has relocated its headquarters to Singapore and made a secondary listing on the city state’s exchange, with the goal of expanding research and development (R&D) and manufacturing in Southeast Asia. It started operating a new factory in Indonesia last week.

The company first announced plans for the move in August.

PC Partner, which was founded in 1997, is choosing to relocate at a time when many multinational businesses are under pressure to scale back business ties in China, a casualty of geopolitical tensions with the US. US president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese products when he returns to the White House in January. It is also expected to become harder for China-based businesses to access advanced semiconductor components.

Nvidia is restricted from exporting its most advanced chips – including its consumer-grade flagship graphics processing unit (GPU), the GeForce RTX 4090 – to Chinese clients. Nvidia is expected to launch its next-generation 50-series GPUs at the CES electronics trade show in Las Vegas in January.

PC Partner has moved its headquarters to Singapore months after announcing that it would make the move. Photo: PC Partner

PC Partner is an assembler of a variety of video gaming hardware, selling its products under the brands of ZOTAC, Inno3D and Manli. The company also provides manufacturing services to other brands.