MADRID, July 7 Reuters U.S. chipmaker Broadcom will invest in a European Unionfunded programme to develop a semiconductor industry in Spain, Chief Executive Charlie Kawwas said late on Thursday.

Excited to announce our decision to invest in Spain39;s semiconductor ecosystem under their semiconductor support program, Kawwas said on his Twitter account.

The project in which Broadcom would be involved could be worth 1 billion, the Spanish economy ministry said in an emailed statement. Broadcom did not say how much it would invest.

The project would include the construction of largescale backend semiconductors facilities unique in Europe, the ministry said, adding no location had been picked yet.

The Spanish government has said it would allocate as much as 12 billion euros 13 billion from the European Union39;s pandemic relief funds it is set to receive to subsidise the development of the semiconductor industry.

Prior to Broadcom, the Spanish government had said U.S. tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. was planning to open a new chip design centre in the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona.

The EU is seeking to reinforce its own chip industry and reduce its dependence on U.S. and Asian supply, triggered by a global shortage of semiconductors and supply chain bottlenecks.

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Reporting by Inti Landauro and Belen Carreño Editing by Mark Potter

Source Reuters