WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is expected to award billions of dollars in subsidies to top semiconductor companies, including Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TMSC), in the coming weeks to help build new factories in the US, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Jan 27.

The forthcoming announcements are aimed at kick-starting manufacturing of advanced semiconductors that power smartphones, artificial intelligence and weapons systems, the WSJ reported, citing industry executives familiar with the negotiations.

The executives expect some announcements to come before United States President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7.

Among the likely recipients of the subsidies, Intel has projects under way in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon that will cost more than US$43.5 billion (S$58.3 billion), the WSJ said.

Another likely recipient, TSMC, has two plants under construction near Phoenix for a total investment of US$40 billion. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, also a contender, has a US$17.3 billion project in Texas.

Micron Technology, Texas Instruments and GlobalFoundries count among other top contenders.

In December, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she would make around a dozen funding awards for semiconductor chips in 2024, including multibillion-dollar announcements that could drastically reshape US chip production.

The first award, worth more than US$35 million and announced in December, was for a BAE Systems facility in Hampshire to produce chips for fighter planes, part of a US$39 billion “Chips for America” subsidy programme approved by the US Congress in 2022. REUTERS