From the WSJ today under the heading "The Road to China-Free Supply Chains is Long":
"In October the founder of the Vietnamese company (with which ASM has agreement) was arrested there on allegations of financial fraud connected to the illicit purchase of rare earths. The founder and a company representative didn't respond to requests for comment.
Australian Strategic Materials which isn't involved in the investigation, says it is exploring whether it will still be viable to source rare earths from the Vietnamese company while looking into other non-Chinese alternatives".
Article also talks about the huge efforts being made to protect legless lizards....
Maybe explains recent price fall. Haven't perused HC to see if mentioned prior - its Saturday and the sun is shining. Apologies if it has.
ASM Price at posting:
$1.20 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
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