Japan to Invest Up to $21 Billion in Two New York Chip Plants Run by GlobalFoundries; U.S. to Raise Its Stake in the Chipmaker to About 7%
Japan will invest up to $21 billion in two chip factories in New York state that will be jointly owned by the U.S. government and Japanese interests and operated by GlobalFoundries, the contract chipmaker said on Wednesday, Reuters reported on October 14.
The investment is part of Japan's $550 billion U.S. investment commitment struck with President Donald Trump's administration last year, in return for the United States lowering tariffs on Japanese cars and other imports from at least 25% to 15%. The U.S. will take a stake in the new factories, but Japan will provide all of the investment capital, GlobalFoundries said. The company will earn fees from building and operating the factories, as well as from licensing its chip manufacturing technology to them.
In a separate agreement, the U.S. government will take an additional 4% stake in GlobalFoundries, bringing its total ownership of the chipmaker to about 7%, Chief Executive Tim Breen told Reuters. Breen said GlobalFoundries would manage customer relationships, and that initial customers for the New York factories include Japan's Renesas Electronics and Apple. "We definitely would like to give priority to U.S. and Japanese customers," he said.
GlobalFoundries, headquartered in Malta, New York, is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. Its shares rose more than 4% in early trading on Wednesday and have gained more than 33% this year. Japan has so far announced two batches of projects worth over $100 billion combined under the investment scheme; under the arrangement, projects are selected by Trump, and available free cash flows from the investments will be split evenly between the two countries until a specific allocation is reached, after which 90% will go to the United States.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：格芯（GlobalFoundries）位于德国德累斯顿的晶圆厂航拍（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0
