ST borrows €600 million in pursuit of ‘European sovereignty’
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to loan STMicroelectronics NV €600 million (about US$650 million) for R&D and pilot manufacturing investment.
The loan is in line with European strategy of building European technological sovereignty in the semiconductor industry, ST said in a statement.
The money is set to be spent in ST’s existing facilities in Agrate and Catania in Italy and Crolles, in France.
“There will be no political sovereignty without digital sovereignty. Europe must use all the tools it has, to invest in new technologies,” said Bruno Le Maire, French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery, in the same statement.
CEO says
Jean-Marc Chery, CEO of ST, said that the loan would complement other financial instruments such as the important projects of common European interest (IPCEI) and others that are currently being set up by the European Commission and the member states. He added that it was important to support the whole value chain including R&D, design and manufacturing.
“ST will contribute to the goal of 20 percent of global production in Europe by 2030 and will continue to develop and manufacture in Europe innovative technologies and products to support the environmental transition and the digital transformation of all industries,” Chery said.
In recent months European politicians have frequently said that Europe is responsible for about 10 percent of global chip production although other figures would suggest European production is closer to 5 percent. In the digital domain European production is much lower as a percentage and it is non-existent at the leading-edge.
The EIB has made seven previous loans to ST worth €3.15 billion since 1994.
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