Germany's Scholz to meet Intel CEO amid intensive talks on chip plant

BERLIN (Reuters) -Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on Monday, a potentially significant moment in talks to set up a new chip-making complex on German soil.

Germany is in intensive discussions with Intel, the economy ministry said on Friday, without commenting on how much state funding the company is set to receive for the project.

Scholz, asked at an unrelated news conference whether a deal would be finalised on Monday, said: "I confirm that we have been in good discussions for some time and will continue to do so on Monday."

An economics ministry spokesperson earlier said the government had a clear goal.

"We want to strengthen Germany as a location for microelectronics. This is highly important for transformation and technological sovereignty, and for this reason we are conducting intensive talks," the spokesperson said.

She did not say how much the company would receive in state subsidies for the site in the central German city of Magdeburg.

On Thursday, the Handelsblatt business daily reported that the U.S. company is expected to receive 9.9 billion euros ($10.84 billion) in subsidies, up from a previously promised sum of 6.8 billion euros.

Handelsblatt had reported that final negotiations would take place over the weekend.

Intel said in a statement on Friday it plans to invest up to $4.6 billion in a new semiconductor assembly and test facility near Wrocław in Poland as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment drive across Europe to build chip capacity.

(Reporting by Rachel More, Anastasiia Kozlova, and Andreas Rinke; additional writing by Tom Sims; editing by Miranda Murray and Nick Macfie)