The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the Biden administration is awarding Intel almost $20-billion in loans and grants to boost its production of semi-conductor chips domestically, marking the largest ever subsidy given by the U.S. government to advance chip production (all figures U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that President Joe Biden will announce the preliminary agreement for $8.5-billion in grants and up to $11-billion in loans for Intel in Arizona, where the money is set to be used to build two new factories and modernize an existing one. Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo called it a huge deal. "It means leading-edge semiconductors made in the United States of America," she said on Tuesday, noting that the administration hopes to increase the United States' share of leading-edge chip production from 0 per cent to 20 per cent by 2030 through the subsidy program. The historic outlay shows the Biden administration is betting big on Intel as part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a bid to boost domestic semi-conductor output with $52.7-billion in funding, including $39-billion in subsidies for semi-conductor production and $11-billion for research and development.