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☆ U.S. issuing new childcare guidance for semiconductor chips subsidy program
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Monday will release new guidance for its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program detailing how companies seeking major awards must provide affordable high-quality childcare. The Commerce Department plans to begin accepting applications in late June for a $39 billion manufacturing subsidy program. The law also creates a 25% investment tax credit for building chip plants, estimated to be worth $24 billion. Some Republicans have criticized Commerce Department conditions including childcare requirements. Semiconductor companies have already announced more than 40 new projects including nearly $200 billion in private investments to increase domestic production.

☆ Biden, Trudeau Tout Job Boosts From Clean Energy, Chips Manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Ken Thomas | Paul Vieira | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

OTTAWA—President Biden, making his first trip as president to Canada, said a robust U.S. industrial policy based on producing clean technology, electric vehicles and semiconductors would benefit workers on both sides of the northern border as he joined with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau . Mr. Biden used an address to the Canadian Parliament to promote their commitment to defending Ukraine in its war against Russia, and future possibilities for workers through the new healthcare and climate change law called the Inflation Reduction Act, and another law to promote semiconductor manufacturing.

☆ US, Canada plan North American chip corridor, starting with IBM expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 24 (Reuters) - The United States and Canada said on Friday they would work together to create a bilateral semiconductor manufacturing corridor, as International Business Machines (IBM.N) signaled its intent to expand in Canada. The Canadian government will spend C$250 million ($181.94 million) on its domestic semiconductor industry to boost research and development and manufacturing, the prime minister's office said in a statement. The countries did not disclose the amount of IBM's investment in Canada. IBM maintains semiconductor research and manufacturing operations in upstate New York. ($1 = 1.3741 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: The business of water: no one-size-fits-all approach
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Isla Binnie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSA group of experts established by the Dutch government is proposing "Just Water Partnerships" in which development finance institutions would invest alongside private firms to improve water systems in lower-income countries. One of those, the Calvert Global Water Fund, tracks the performance of an index of companies that "are offering products or services that are part of a solution to global water challenges," said portfolio manager Jade Huang. "There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can help to approach the many aspects of dealing with water challenges," Huang added. Lance Coogan, who developed that concept for water price indexing, describes it as "the volume-weighted average of the actual water transactions that are taking place". How can you have those things without having the water price?"

☆ Chip plants in China won't be forced to shut if firms receive US funding, says S.Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday proposed limits for recipients of U.S. chip manufacturing and research funding, including limits on investing in expansion in countries such as China and Russia. The world's largest and second-largest memory-chip makers, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS), have chip production facilities in China. Samsung is building a chip plant in Texas that could cost more than $25 billion, while SK Hynix parent SK Group announced last year plans to invest $15 billion in the U.S. chip industry. The proposed rules for funding recipients limit chip production capacity growth in China to 5% over 10 years as measured by wafers, and 10% for older legacy chips, the trade ministry said. Samsung and SK Hynix said they would review the details of the announcement.

☆ China gives chipmakers easier subsidy access to help guide industry recovery - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 21 (Reuters) - China is facilitating easier access to subsidies and more control over state-backed research for a handful of its chip companies, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Chipmakers such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) (0981.HK), Hua Hong Semiconductor (1347.HK) and Huawei, as well as equipment suppliers like Naura (002371.SZ) and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc China(688012.SS) might benefit from the policy, the report added citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters had reported in December that China is working on a more than 1 trillion yuan ($145.34 billion) support package for its semiconductor industry, amid tightening U.S. restrictions aimed at slowing its technological advances. The chosen firms will have access to additional government funding without having to achieve previously necessary performance goals, the report said, adding that they will also be allowed to play a bigger role in state-sponsored research projects. ($1 = 6.8803 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. seeks to prevent China from benefiting from $52 billion chips funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flags of China and U.S. are displayed on a printed circuit board with semiconductor chips, in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationWASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday released proposed rules to prevent $52 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research funding from being used by China and other countries deemed of concern. This measure covers chips "including current-generation and mature-node chips used for quantum computing, in radiation-intensive environments, and for other specialized military capabilities." The Commerce Department plans to begin accepting applications in late June for a $39-billion semiconductor manufacturing subsidy program. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said it would reinforce those controls by aligning prohibited technology thresholds for memory chips between export controls and CHIPS national security guardrails and include "a more restrictive threshold for logic chips than is used for export controls."

☆ Nvidia turns to AI cloud rental to spread new technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Huang said Nvidia was also working with Microsoft and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) to offer its supercomputers, used to create new AI products, as a service. Nvidia's new rental service, called DGX Cloud, could give many more developers the chance to access tens of thousands of its chips at once. Biotech firm Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) and software firm ServiceNow Inc (NOW.N) have started using the service, Nvidia said. Nvidia also launched a service called AI Foundations to help companies train their customized artificial intelligence models. Nvidia said it was working with ASML Holding (ASML.AS), Synopsys Inc (SNPS.O) and TSMC to bring it to market.

☆ Time to buy the tech rally? Hedge fund manager Dan Niles and others reveal their top picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The tech sector was a bright spot last week as the banking crisis rocked markets. Big tech and semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia and Microsoft were up around 12% over the week, while AMD soared over 18%. Hedge fund manager Dan Niles, meanwhile, said he likes Meta as it has a "strong" core business, with good user growth and engagement. Like Meeks, Niles is also bullish — but selective — on semiconductor stocks. Financial services firm BTIG said it believes that tech stocks have become something of a "rotation beneficiary given the recent events and rising odds for a hard landing."

☆ Factbox: Chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe, US and Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The logo of semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is seen in Villach, Austria, June 3, 2018. The European Commission has earmarked 15 billion euros for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030, while U.S. President Joe Biden's administration passed the CHIPS Act last year to make over $52-billion worth of subsidies available for the American semiconductor industry. The Act deters companies using U.S. funds from undertaking any big expansions of overseas semiconductor manufacturing facilities in "countries of concern" such as China for 10 years, with some exceptions. India, Taiwan and South Korea have also offered incentives such as tax breaks to boost domestic chip production. Below are some of the chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe, North America and Asia:NORTH AMERICAEUROPEASIAReporting by Antonis Pothitos in Gdansk, Tiyashi Datta, Chavi Mehta and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; editing by Josephine Mason, Mark Potter and Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TSMC founder says he supports US efforts to slow China's chip advances
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sarah Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Morris Chang, the founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), speaks on stage during a Chip War book event in Taipei, Taiwan March 16, 2023. In Taiwan, TSMC, Asia's most valuable listed company and a major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier, is widely regarded as the "sacred mountain protecting the country," because of its economic importance. U.S. "onshoring" and "friendshoring" efforts to boost chip manufacturing stateside or in allied countries present a predicament for Taiwan. TSMC is expanding its global production footprint, even as it keeps its most advanced technology in Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is plowing billions into bolstering its chip sector, but Chang said China's chip manufacturing technology lags that of Taiwan by "at least five or six years".

☆ ABB invests in US robot factory as reshoring trend hots up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ZURICH, March 15 (Reuters) - ABB (ABBN.S) is expanding its main US robot factory as its customers there in the automotive, packaging and machinery industries confront a tight labour market as they bring production back home. The United States is the third largest in the global robotics market, which is worth around $50 billion per year according to estimates by ABB and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Rapid growth is expected as US companies bring production closer to home to avoid logistic log jams which have gummed up supply chains since the global pandemic. A survey by ABB last year showed 70% of North American businesses suffered supply chain disruptions in the last year. "The potential for growth in the industrial robots market is huge," Atiya said.

☆ Samsung Electronics to invest $230 bln through 2042 in South Korea chipmaking base
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) on Wednesday said it will invest around 300 trillion won ($230 billion) by 2042 to develop what the government called the world's largest chip-making base, in line with efforts to enhance South Korea's chip industry. The amount makes up most of the 550 trillion won in private-sector investment announced by the government on Wednesday, under a strategy that expands tax breaks and infrastructure support to increase the competitiveness of high-tech industries including those involving chips, displays and batteries. Samsung's manufacturing additions will include five chip factories and attract up to 150 materials, parts and equipment makers, fabless chipmakers and semiconductor research-and-development organisations, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. South Korea, home to the world's two biggest memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS), is seeking to improve supply-chain stability to become a major player in the non-memory chip field, currently dominated by chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW) and Intel Corp (INTC.O). ($1 = 1,305.1200 won)Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hong Kong/Seoul CNN —South Korea says it will build an enormous facility to make computer chips in the greater Seoul area, with about $230 billion in investment from memory chip giant Samsung Electronics. “We will build the world’s largest new ‘high-tech system semiconductor cluster’ in the Seoul Metropolitan area based on large-scale private investment of almost 300 trillion Korean won,” he said. An aerial view of Samsung Electronics' chip production plant at Pyeongtaek, South Korea on September 7, 2022. The vast majority of the world’s advanced microchips are made in just two places, Taiwan and South Korea. Taiwan’s industry is larger and more dominant, something South Korea is keen to challenge.

Hong Kong/Seoul CNN —South Korea says it will build an enormous facility to make computer chips in greater Seoul, with about $230 billion in investment from private companies. “We will build the world’s largest new ‘high-tech system semiconductor cluster’ in the Seoul Metropolitan area based on large-scale private investment of almost 300 trillion Korean won,” President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday. “In addition, we will grow the ‘semiconductor mega cluster’ to the world’s largest in connection with the existing memory semiconductor manufacturing complexes.”The Seoul Metropolitan area includes the capital Seoul, neighboring city of Incheon and surrounding Gyeonggi province. This is a developing story. More to come.

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 (Reuters) - A chip plant that South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is building in Taylor, Texas, will cost the world's biggest memory chipmaker over $25 billion, up more than $8 billion from initial forecasts, according to two people familiar with the matter. The increase in cost is primarily due to inflation, the people said, declining to be named because the information was not public. "The higher construction cost is about 80% of the cost increase," one of the sources said. Meanwhile, Intel Corp (INTC.O) announced a $20 billion chip factory in Ohio that it could expand to cost up to $100 billion. Samsung, the world's No.2 contract chip manufacturer, announced its Taylor, Texas, plant in 2021.

☆ SVB crisis reveals how tough higher rates can be — but these 3 stocks are resilient, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Many companies will find a higher-interest-rate environment very difficult to operate in — as demonstrated by the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, according to Anthony Doyle, head of investment strategy at Firetrail Investments. "It is not a time to be taking beta and index exposure in a higher-interest-rate and a higher-cost-of-capital world," Doyle told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Monday. It comes after financial regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank and took control of its deposits, in what is the largest U.S. bank failure since the global financial crisis over a decade ago. SVB was a major bank for tech and venture-backed companies, which are under pressure due to higher interest rates. "We expect the market to tighten up despite some of the glut of semiconductors that we've seen more recently.

☆ US would destroy Taiwan's semiconductor factories rather than letting them fall into China's hands, a former national security adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A former security adviser told Semafor the US would destroy Taiwan's semiconductor factories if China invaded. Robert O'Brien, who served as national security advisor under Donald Trump, said the US "and its allies are never going to let those factories fall into Chinese hands." Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world's largest chipmaker, making up an estimated 90% of the market for advanced processors. O'Brien is not the first to raise the idea of destroying Taiwan's semiconductor factories if China invades. "This could be done most effectively by threatening to destroy facilities belonging to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the most important chipmaker in the world and China's most important supplier.

☆ US set to further tighten chipmaking exports to China - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Flags of China and U.S. are displayed on a printed circuit board with semiconductor chips, in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File PhotoMarch 10 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is working to further tighten restrictions on exporting semiconductor manufacturing gear to China, Bloomberg News reported on Friday citing people familiar with the situation. The Biden administration plans to coordinate with the Netherlands and Japan, according to the report. This week, Dutch government said it plans new restrictions on semiconductor technology exports to China to protect national security. The U.S. had imposed a slew of export restrictions late last year including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.

☆ Biden's budget plan would boost childcare funding by billions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's fiscal 2024 budget plan would boost federal funding for childcare and early childhood education by billions of dollars, ensuring free preschool for all of the country's 4 million 4-year-olds, the White House said. The White House argues that lack of access to affordable childcare is a key factor depressing women's participation in the workforce. One recent poll showed that 55% of households experience difficulty finding childcare, with 21% citing challenges related specifically to cost, the White House said. It drops Biden's previous request to fund universal preschool for 3-year-olds, choosing a more targeted approach this year, a White House official said. The White House is betting that childcare programs, which are very popular with the public, could help boost Biden's approval ratings.

☆ How manufacturing chips in the US could make smartphones more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

So far, the law has spurred $200 billion of announced investment in U.S. chip manufacturing, the Semiconductor Industry Association said in December. How much of phone cost is in the chips On its face, a significant hike in chip prices has implications for consumers because chips are such a big component in overall phone manufacturing cost. For Samsung , the combined 5G modem and core apps processor add up to $193 of the $618 manufacturing cost of an S-22 Plus phone. Bringing chip manufacturing to the U.S. is expensive in many respects. "The high costs of construction includes labor costs, costs of permits, cost of occupational safety and health regulations, inflationary costs in recent years, and people and learning curve costs."

An employee stands by cables inside a ASML Twinscan XT1000 lithography machine, during manufacture at the ASML factory in Veldhoven, Netherlands. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Dutch government is pressing ahead with export restrictions on "advanced" semiconductor manufacturing equipment following political pressure from the United States. Although the letter does not reference China, it comes after pressure from the White House, which in 2022 imposed export controls that limit Beijing from accessing certain semiconductor chips. At the time, American officials recognized that if other countries did not impose similar restrictions, the export controls would lose effectiveness over time. Since 2018, the U.S. has reportedly been asking the Dutch government to stop ASML shipping its extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to China.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Target, Goldman Sachs, Meta, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Bank of America reiterates Goldman Sachs as buy Bank of America said the investment bank is "best-in-class." Bank of America reiterates Taiwan Semiconductor as buy Bank of America said the semiconductor company has "strong AI potential." Evercore ISI reiterates Meta as a top pick Evercore named Meta a top pick, noting it still likes the company's business model. " Evercore ISI reiterates Meta as a top pickEvercore named Meta a top pick, noting it still likes the company's business model. Oppenheimer reiterates Meta as outperformOppenheimer said it's standing by its outperform rating on Meta.

☆ Bank of America says Taiwan Semiconductor can ride the generative A.I. boom, jump more than 25%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has further upside on the generative AI boom, according to Bank of America. "Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is a key beneficiary and among our 20 global AI stock picks owing to the rising and widening applications of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, led by ChatGPT," Lin wrote. "We think the generative AI should act as one of the greatest drivers, thanks to the substantial computational requirements for running and training the AI models." The analyst said that Taiwan Semiconductor will ride the "structural uptrend" in generative AI opportunities, which will drive demand for several semiconductors. Taiwan Semiconductor shares are up 21.9% this year after falling 82% last year.

☆ S. Korea's trade minister to raise concerns over Chips Act in US meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Heekyong Yang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's trade minister will meet with counterparts in Washington this week to express concerns that the U.S. Chips Act could make the U.S. a less attractive investment destination, its trade ministry said. During his trip, South Korea's trade minister Ahn Duk-geun plans to meet with senior officials from the U.S. Commerce Department and White House as well as officials from major think tanks to discuss the Chips Act. The Chips Act plays a central role in the Biden administration's effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing home, and its success is vital to U.S. ambitions to keep ahead of China in global markets. Under the Chips Act, companies that accept the incentives are required to share with the U.S. government a portion of their profits that exceed initial projections by an agreed-upon threshold. Companies winning chips subsidies would be barred from engaging in joint research and technology licensing efforts or expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern like China for 10 years.

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