Japan plans bond issue to support Rapidus

The Japanese government is planning a bond issue to provide funds to support its chip sector, including the recently formed Rapidus, according to local newspapers.

The Japanese government is planning to support the country’s semiconductor industry by issuing bonds backed by the state’s holding in telephone service provider NTT. The amount of money to be raised were not disclosed but the action is set to pay for a funding program intended to last through to 2030, according to Nikkei.

The plan is part of a broader package of economic stimulus measures due to be announced later this month, Japan Today said.

Rapidus (Tokyo, Japan) was established with the backing of eight Japanese technology companies with plans to start manufacturing chips using a 2nm process by 2027. The commercial backing was relatively limited – just 7.3 billion yen (about US$51.5 million) – and the company’s plan is expected to cost billions of dollars. In April 2023 the company secured US$2.3 billion to start building its wafer fab.