Source: Global Semiconductor Watch Original author: Whispers

The global semiconductor industry has developed into one of the core industries to enhance international competitiveness, and the independence, diversification and security of the supply chain are the focus of concern. China, the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea and other countries or regions have strengthened the semiconductor industry layout, stable supply chain system, under this, another country to attack semiconductor.

Recently, Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of a national semiconductor center to focus on the development of the IC design ecosystem, aiming to attract 50 companies by 2030 to create a "Saudi Silicon Valley". So far, three companies have signed up to the program, and ten more have expressed interest.

Naveed Sherwani, head of the center, said the plan would focus on simpler chips rather than cutting-edge technology, and that chip manufacturing would remain in international foundries, at least in the medium term.

Saudi Arabia has unveiled a new strategy to become a hub for chip design as it seeks to diversify its economy away from crude oil, with a broader vision of becoming a regional leader in advanced technology and plans to build data centers, artificial intelligence companies and chip manufacturing bases.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia also announced the launch of a 1 billion riyals (about $270 million) fund focused on investing in semiconductor startups and supporting innovative technologies and business models, aiming to drive technological development and industrial upgrading in the kingdom and the Middle East region.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which invests in U.S. tech startups, has reportedly set aside $40 billion to invest in AI technology. According to the New York Times in March, the fund is working with top U.S. firms, including Andreessen Horowitz.

Observing the dynamics of all parties, the global semiconductor competition tends to be white-hot
Today, semiconductor has become an important source of global economic growth industry, from the deployment dynamics of countries this year, the global parties actively introduced a number of relevant policies to subsidize the semiconductor industry, support the development of related enterprises, is conducive to the sustained high-quality development of the semiconductor industry.

The Chip and Science Act was introduced in August 2022, providing $52.7 billion in funding for chip research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development in the United States, as well as a 25% investment tax credit for capital expenditures on manufacturing chips and related equipment.

Several vendors have received U.S. funding this year, including Micron ($6.14 billion), Samsung ($6.4 billion), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ($6.6 billion), Microchip Technology ($162 million), and Intel ($8.5 billion). Intel's $8.5 billion grant is the largest in the Chip Act to date, and Intel will use the money to advance its commercial chip projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon.

The European Chip Act, which came into force in September 2023, aims to increase the EU's share of the global semiconductor market from 10% today to at least 20% by 2030. The bill promises to mobilize 43 billion euros (about $46.4 billion) in subsidy funds, of which 11 billion euros (about $11.8 billion) will be used for research and development of advanced process chip technology. It is reported that at present, Intel, TSMC and other large factories have said that they will build fabs in Germany in the European region, and are expected to receive government subsidies.

According to European Commission officials, the European Chip Act is expected to help the European semiconductor industry attract more than 100 billion euros (about $108 billion) by 2030. The European Commission plans to complete a review of funding plans for four advanced semiconductor pilot lines by September, and is planning another pilot line for silicon photonics chips of unknown size.

From the perspective of Asia, in addition to Saudi Arabia in West Asia, China, South Korea, Japan and other East Asian regions, Malaysia, Singapore and other Southeast Asian regions, India and other South Asian regions have never stopped the pace of semiconductor layout in recent years.

Japan: Japan has provided a lot of subsidies and actively developed the wafer foundry and memory industry. In April, Japan approved subsidies of up to $3.9 billion for Rapidus, the country's homegrown semiconductor manufacturing company, which plans to mass-produce 2-nanometer chips by 2027. It also announced the provision of 242.9 billion yen ($1.546 billion) in subsidies to Kaixia and Western Digital for the construction of two state-of-the-art NAND flash memory chip production plants in Mi and Iwate prefectural regions to meet the needs of artificial intelligence and big data centers, the joint venture plant will be 218 layer 3D NAND chips.

South Korea: On May 23, South Korea announced a comprehensive semiconductor industry support plan of up to 26 trillion won (about 19 billion US dollars), including providing large-scale financing support, as well as expanding the construction of semiconductor parks and various infrastructure, research and development personnel training investment scale, involving enterprises including chip manufacturers, raw material suppliers and chip design companies. The centerpiece of the plan is the establishment of a 17 trillion won (about $12.4 billion) financing support program by the KDB for infrastructure investment in the semiconductor industry. At the same time, South Korea will extend tax breaks for chip investment to ensure the smooth progress of semiconductor super cluster investment.

In addition, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yoon said in April this year that in order to maintain the global leading position of cutting-edge semiconductor chips, South Korea will increase investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors by 2027.

Malaysia: Under its national Semiconductor Strategy, Malaysia will allocate at least US $5.3 billion (NT $170 billion) over the next 5-10 years to nurture talent and develop local companies. Countries in Malaysia include Intel, Micron and Infineon.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in May that the country would train 60,000 highly skilled local semiconductor engineers as it moves towards becoming a global chip hub.

India: The Indian government wants to make India a $400 billion-a-year electronics manufacturing hub by 2025. In 2021, the Indian government approved $10 billion in semiconductor incentives, and eligible companies can submit proposals to the Indian government to apply for this funding. It is reported that Intel, AMD, Micron and other large factories have gone to India to build related factories or research and development centers.

India's Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vishnau, in February this year announced the approval of three semiconductor plants with a combined value of 1.256 trillion rupees ($15.2 billion). These include India's first 12-inch wafer fab, built in partnership with LSMC, and two closed test plants being built by Tata and CG Power, a unit of Indian conglomerate Murugappa. The plants will be built within the next 100 days and will manufacture and package chips for India's defense, automotive and telecommunications industries.