The German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said that the government is preparing aid worth about 20 billion euros (US$22.1 billion) to support the development of local semiconductor production in the coming years.
The money would be drawn from the off-budget Climate and Transformation Fund starting next year, the ministry said yesterday, confirming a Bloomberg News report on Monday.
The time frame for the planned aid was not specified.
Photo: AFP
“We are only able to provide concrete funding amounts for individual projects once the European Commission has given its approval under state aid law and the funding decision has been handed over to the company,” the ministry said.
European countries have been under pressure to attract investments amid economic uncertainty, stubborn inflation and the effects of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The bulk of Germany’s funds are earmarked for international firms, highlighting the country’s limited tech expertise.
The German government has already agreed to 10 billion euros in aid for a new Intel Corp plant and is in the process of agreeing to about 6 billion euros more in subsidies to companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Germany’s Infineon Technologies AG.
The government is in the final phase of negotiations with TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, to invest in a plant in Dresden in eastern Germany. As much as 5 billion euros in subsidies, or about half of the total investment, has already been budgeted, people involved in the negotiations said, asking to remain anonymous.
Last month, TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) told reporters that following Russia’s war in Ukraine, the EU has become more keen on setting up new chip plants to secure supplies.
The ministry said Berlin also plans to support a US$3 billion wafer factory that auto-parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Wolfspeed Inc plan to build in the Saarland region, as well as a battery-cell factory from Northvolt AB.
The total aid plan indicates that there are still at least 3 billion euros available for additional investments. That could benefit other companies active in Germany. GlobalFoundries Inc has a sizable presence in Dresden, while German supplier Robert Bosch GmbH also runs a chip plant in the city.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping