Samsung Electronics lines up new $6bn US subsidy
The Biden administration is preparing to extend another huge grant to Samsung Electronics to encourage the Korean firm to invest in the US manufacturing base.
A new report by Bloomberg says the US government will assign USD 6 billion to Samsung to encourage the chip maker to build on its existing USD 17 billion project in Taylor, Texas. Neither the government nor Samsung have confirmed the speculation.
If the rumours are true, the money will come from the USD 39 billion set aside in direct grants by the 2022 Chips and Science Act. Samsung has hoped to start mass production at its Taylor site this year, but this looks set to be delayed to 2025.
The Chips and Science Act has been slow to distribute funds, but now it appears to be gathering pace. Bloomberg reports that it expects the Commerce Department to announce USD 5 billion to TSMC in the coming weeks. It's also believed that Intel has been in talks for a USD 10 billion package.
In Feburary, the fund has awarded USD 1.5 billion to contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries to build a new site in New York and expand existing operations in Vermont. Before that it pledged USD 35 million to defence firm BAE Systems to boost its chip-making output for military aircraft and USD 162 million to Microchip Technology to improve its plants in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Gresham, Oregon.
More than 600 companies are believed to have applied for subsidies.
