EC Approves Dresden Mask Centre But Investigates Portuguese Investment
At the same time, the EC launched an in-depth probe into aid planned by the Portugese authorities for the extension of a Infineon semiconductor plant located in Vila do Conde, Portugal.
The Dresden project relates to the establishment of a research and development facility for the development of optical photomasks. It is also planned to produce prototypes of the newly developed photomasks and to pilot-manufacture a limited quantity of them.
Three companies will operate the planned facility - AMD, DuPont Photomasks and Infineon Tecnologies. Each of the companies will hold one third of the share capital of a newly established joint venture that will be set up for this purpose.
The German federal government maintains that photomasks are a growth market that grew by 15.9% in value terms in the period from 1996 to 2001. For the period from 2002 to 2005, "an expert" has forecast 18% growth a year.
The Dresden region is an "assisted area" in which up to 28% of eligible investment costs may be financed through state aid. The planned investment aid is below the permitted aid ceiling, with an intensity of 25.2% of the eligible investment costs.
The Portuguese investment involves grant aid amounting to EUR76.8mn in favour of Technologies-Fabrico de Semiconductores.
The in-depth probe will allow the Commission to verify whether the company is eligible for regional investment aid and if so, whether the aid respects the applicable regional aid ceilings. The probe will also give interested third parties, such as Infineon's competitors, an opportunity to submit comments.
A key factor in assessing eligibility for regional investment aid is whether the proposed project would take place in a sector suffering from structural over-capacity. The new Infineon plant is scheduled to produce packaged DRAMs. The probe will also allow verification of data on the creation of direct and indirect jobs in the Grande Porto region - a region that is, in principle, eligible for regional aid.
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