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YESTERDAY IN PARLIAMENT
Micron loan to stoke investment: Hng Kiang
By CHUANG PECK MING
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THE government has given US memory chip giant Micron Technology a $300 million loan to 'facilitate' more investment in its local joint-venture wafer fab plant TECH Semiconductor, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said yesterday.
The three-year loan - to be repaid entirely at the three-year mark - was made on condition that Micron invest a 'significantly larger' sum than the loan and provide the latest technology to upgrade TECH, Mr Lim said in an oral answer in Parliament to Ang Mo Kio MP Inderjit Singh.
Mr Singh wanted to know the terms, risks and benefits of the loan to Micron, which has posted eight straight quarters of losses because of the global electronics downturn.
'The new technology will help TECH maintain its position as one of the most cost-efficient memory chip plants in the world,' said Mr Lim. 'Micron's investment will also generate significant economic spin-offs to the rest of the semiconductor industry in Singapore and to other supporting industries such as semiconductor equipment and chemicals.'
The loan is backed by collateral that is 'worth much more than the loan', he said. 'The risk of diminution in collateral value through action by Micron or TECH has been mitigated through appropriate financial covenants in the loan terms.'
The loan to Micron was made under the Economic Development Board's (EDB) existing scheme for targeted investment promotion, Mr Lim said.
'This loan is not a financial assistance measure for the economic downturn, nor should it be compared to the government's risk-sharing facilities for loans made to local companies through the banking system under the Special Risk-sharing Initiative or SRI,' he said,
The SRI is temporary and is meant to facilitate the flow of credit to deserving companies that face a credit crunch because of the recession.
'The investment promotion loans made by EDB, such as the Micron loan, are different,' Mr Lim said. 'They are made under a standing scheme and subject to having in place satisfactory guarantee and collateral, rigorous cost-benefit analysis and conditions designed to maximise economic benefits to Singapore.
'EDB's use of a variety of tools for investment promotion has been instrumental in helping to anchor a range of manufacturing and services industries which have provided good jobs for Singaporeans over the years.'
YESTERDAY IN PARLIAMENT
Micron loan to stoke investment: Hng Kiang
By CHUANG PECK MING
Email this article
Print article
Feedback
THE government has given US memory chip giant Micron Technology a $300 million loan to 'facilitate' more investment in its local joint-venture wafer fab plant TECH Semiconductor, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said yesterday.
The three-year loan - to be repaid entirely at the three-year mark - was made on condition that Micron invest a 'significantly larger' sum than the loan and provide the latest technology to upgrade TECH, Mr Lim said in an oral answer in Parliament to Ang Mo Kio MP Inderjit Singh.
Mr Singh wanted to know the terms, risks and benefits of the loan to Micron, which has posted eight straight quarters of losses because of the global electronics downturn.
'The new technology will help TECH maintain its position as one of the most cost-efficient memory chip plants in the world,' said Mr Lim. 'Micron's investment will also generate significant economic spin-offs to the rest of the semiconductor industry in Singapore and to other supporting industries such as semiconductor equipment and chemicals.'
The loan is backed by collateral that is 'worth much more than the loan', he said. 'The risk of diminution in collateral value through action by Micron or TECH has been mitigated through appropriate financial covenants in the loan terms.'
The loan to Micron was made under the Economic Development Board's (EDB) existing scheme for targeted investment promotion, Mr Lim said.
'This loan is not a financial assistance measure for the economic downturn, nor should it be compared to the government's risk-sharing facilities for loans made to local companies through the banking system under the Special Risk-sharing Initiative or SRI,' he said,
The SRI is temporary and is meant to facilitate the flow of credit to deserving companies that face a credit crunch because of the recession.
'The investment promotion loans made by EDB, such as the Micron loan, are different,' Mr Lim said. 'They are made under a standing scheme and subject to having in place satisfactory guarantee and collateral, rigorous cost-benefit analysis and conditions designed to maximise economic benefits to Singapore.
'EDB's use of a variety of tools for investment promotion has been instrumental in helping to anchor a range of manufacturing and services industries which have provided good jobs for Singaporeans over the years.'
