Donald Trump claims Intel has 'agreed' to sell 10% of its shares to the US government

Donald Trump said on Friday, August 22, that the American semiconductor and processor company Intel had "agreed" to sell 10% of its shares to the American government. "I think it's a very good deal for them," the American president assured in the Oval Office, referring to his meeting with Lip-Bu Tan, the head of Intel, on August 11.

The US government wanted to obtain shares in the company in exchange for subsidies already planned by former President Joe Biden, Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, also stated last week.

These subsidies were part of the CHIPS Act, the law passed under Mr. Trump's Democratic predecessor, aimed at encouraging the entire chip and semiconductor value chain to be established in the country. But the American president is seeking to attract companies by imposing customs duties on products imported into the country, betting that they will prefer to set up factories there rather than have to pay the surcharge.

"We should receive equity in exchange for our money," Lutnick said at the time. "We will pay the money that was committed by [Joe's] Biden administration and we will get securities in exchange." A stake in Intel, however, would not be a voting interest or a seat on the group's board, Lutnick said.

Intel is one of Silicon Valley's most iconic companies, but its success has been eclipsed by Asian behemoths TSMC and Samsung, which dominate the semiconductor market.

In early August, Mr. Trump attacked Lip-Bu Tan, accusing him of "facing a serious conflict of interest" and calling on him to "resign immediately," before receiving him on August 11 at the White House for a meeting described by the American president as "very interesting."

Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank Group also announced last week that it would invest $2 billion in Intel, bringing its stake to 2%.