Israel gives Intel ultimatum on fab grant

[FarCenter]

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--The Israeli government is attempting to force Intel Corp.’s hand on a decision to potentially build a new fab in the north of the country in exchange for a 1 billion shekel ($264.37 million) grant, according to media reports.

Intel has been putting off the decision of where to build its new fab, and reports in the Israeli media say the country’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor are losing patience with the chip maker.

Israel has now given Intel until early March to make its decision, in an ultimatum that would see the loan expire and the money used as a grant to another multinational, should Intel fail to respond within the timeframe.

http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4235223/Israel-gives-Intel-ultimatum-on-fab-grant-?cid=NL_EETimesDaily

Didn't Obama cite Intel as a company creating jobs in America?

Why put a semiconductor fab in a potential war zone?

[nanabugg]

1. Good question.

Shouldn't America be put before any other nation? Now we learn today that Mr. Adleson, Newt's biggest donor, is staunchly anti-union and has been throwing his money around for quite sometime to squash unions in the Casino industry, including food-workers, and hosting. Greed is a gift to these rich scumbags. They never want to see anyone else get ahead unless they are one of them.

[Snake Alchemist]

2. Everywhere is a potential war zone.

I believe Israel works really hard to foster technological innovation. I can't verify this list, so take it with a grain of salt.

http://www.bangitout.com/articles/viewarticle.php?a=1204

[FarCenter]

3. Yes, but Northern Israel has seen the rockets red glare in the recent past, compared with Baltimore

I'm not sure about the list. While visiting Chicago, I made a call through the first prototype cell switch in the very early '70s using an Oki phone. IIRC, both Oki and Motorola sets were installed in cars of Bell System employees to test the prototypes.

[Snake Alchemist]

4. Given Baltimore's crime rate, I'm not sure that is the best comparison.

You could argue the Baltimore is a war zone.

It is very true that there are rocket attacks EVERY month in Israel though.

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. Intel has a major development facility in Israel.

Which in fact is where the Intel Core and Core 2 processors were developed. It makes sense that they'd have a fabrication facility there. And creating jobs in Israel doesn't mean they can't or don't create jobs in the US as well; it's not a zero-sum game.

[lnstrnt]

6. http://www.bangitout.com/articles/viewarticle.php?a=1204

Bangitout calling itself a "kosher comedy community" is a hint not to take the list too seriously. Real innovation is complex, typically requiring a WIDE range of contributions. For example:

Israeli company Retalix created the grocery scanners used at such stores as Costco, Albertson's, and 7-11, as well as 25,000 additional stores and quick-service restaurants throughout the United States.

Wikipedia cites the origins of barcode in a 1948 grad project at Drexel ... and cites Retalix as founded in 1982, selling "store-level software solutions".

Back on topic ...
While Technion/IIT's story is complicated, it's clearly one of the leading governmental-academic clusters in the global competition to attract hi-tech multinational firms.

Negotiations between governments and mega-firms are difficult because -- talk of win-win notwithstanding -- miscalculations can lead to huge net losses for either side. That's a high stakes challenge whether the competition is inter-state or inter-national, for hi-tech or pro-sports, or energy, etc.

It's especially challenging on the governmental side, since a governments "results" are harder to quantify ... and the multitude of interests under any governmental umbrella always raises questions about whose interests are served.

Inferring strong self-awareness, and honest brokering, I expect most brokers push to the edge of breaking the deals. So what is sometimes reported as "anomalies" -- like Israel only offering Intel 1/3 the tax break sought, or like LA telling the NFL "no we won't build you a stadium" -- seem unsurprising given the nature of such deals.

Would anyone here suggest our governmental brokers consistently negotiate as well on our behalf?