A record-sized Japanese cheque is heading for American chip factories: Tokyo will pay as much as $21 billion. Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa confirmed on Thursday that two new fabrication plants will rise in Malta, New York, a day after GlobalFoundries revealed it had been chosen to run them.
Under the arrangement, Tokyo supplies the money while the American foundry brings its manufacturing know-how. The opening phase, worth about $10 billion, covers a 300mm wafer plant scheduled to start output in 2029; a second facility of similar cost would follow. Rather than cutting-edge processors, the sites will turn out so-called mature-node chips, the workhorse components used in cars, factory equipment, phones and AI data centres.
The deal grows out of last year’s trade pact, under which Japan pledged investment in return for lighter US tariffs, and it is the third project launched from that package. Akazawa argued that no country currently has a stronger economic bond with Washington. President Donald Trump has promised some 27,000 jobs in building and suppliers, plus over 1,000 skilled roles on the factory floor, a message he is repeating on the campaign trail ahead of the November 3 midterms.
Japanese industry hopes for a slice of the business. The trade ministry said equipment makers Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are keen to supply tools, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo wants to provide materials, and Renesas Electronics intends to buy output from the new plants.
There are strings attached for GlobalFoundries too. Under a side deal, the US Commerce Department will take an equity stake of roughly 4% in the company. Ground is expected to be broken on the first plant before the end of the year, on a site that already has its permits in place.
