Japan to invest up to $21 billion in two US chip factories to be run by GlobalFoundries

Japan will invest up to $21 billion in two chip factories in New York state that will be jointly owned by the U.S. government and Japanese interests and operated by GlobalFoundries, the company said on Wednesday. Shares of the Malta, New York-based company rose nearly 5 percent in premarket trading. As of last close, the stock had gained more than 33 percent so far this year. The move is part of a deal for Japan to invest $550 billion in the U.S. struck by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last year in return for the U.S. lowering tariffs on Japanese cars and other imports from at least 25 percent to 15 percent. The U.S. will take a stake in the new chip factories, but Japan will provide all of the investment capital, GlobalFoundries said. The company, which is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co, will earn fees from building and operating the factories, as well as licensing chip manufacturing technology to them. In a separate agreement, the U.S. government will take a 4 percent stake in GlobalFoundries, bringing its total ownership of the