WDC - Western Digital Kioxia to get $680M subsidy from Japan to boost memory chip supply

• Western Digital ( WDC ) and Kioxia Holdings, a spin-off of Toshiba ( OTCPK:TOSBF ), will receive $680M in subsidies from Japan to boost production of memory chips, the country's government said on Tuesday.
• The news, first reported by Reuters, comes as the world continues to deal with supply chain shortages and an uneven recovery in semiconductor production following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• "We believe the investment will help stabilize advanced memory chip production in Japan," Japan's economy and trade minister Koichi Hagiuda said at a press briefing, according to Reuters. "It will contribute to Japan-U.S. cooperations in semiconductors."
• Western Digital ( WDC ) shares fell slightly more than 0.5% to $46.54 in premarket trading.
• Hagiuda and Japan's Foreign Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, are set to visit the U.S. this week to discuss with their American counterparts how the two countries can cooperate further on security as it pertains to industrial and economic policy, the news outlet added.
• Earlier this month, Deutsche Bank cut earnings estimates on Western Digital ( WDC ) and competitor Seagate Technology ( STX ), while noting recent weakness could spill over to impact cloud and enterprise spending .

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