UK Chipmakers Coax Government For Domestic Support Like EU And US, Else They Relocate - Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

The U.K.’s semiconductor industry seeks financial support from the government, with insiders warning the country is losing its microchip firms to the U.S. and other countries.
Cambridge-based Pragmatic Semiconductor, a producer of non-silicon chips, and Newport, Wales-based IQE threatened to relocate lest the government did not take timely action, CNBC reports.
The semiconductor supply crisis, further aggravated by the pandemic, proved to be a nightmare for automakers and electronic gadget manufacturers.
The supply chain crisis highlighted global dependence on Taiwan and China for semiconductor components.
Interestingly, Britain is home to chip designer Softbank Group Corp SFTBF SFTBY Arm Ltd. Based in Cambridge, England, Arm-licensed chips serve roughly 95% of the world’s smartphones.
In the U.S., President Joe Biden signed a $280 billion package that includes $52 billion of funding to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
The EU earmarked €43 billion ($45.9 billion) for Europe’s semiconductor industry.
China eyed over 1 trillion yuan ($147 billion) package for its chip industry.
A U.K. semiconductor strategy was likely to last year. But it has faced a series of delays due to political instability.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is yet to announce a strategy outlining U.K. efforts to support the chip industry.
A government spokesperson told CNBC: “Our strategy will grow the sector further and make sure we have a resilient supply chain. The strategy will be published as soon as possible.”

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