Treasury chief flags potential of US stake in sectors like shipbuilding
WASHINGTON
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the U.S. government was not eyeing a stake in chip giant Nvidia for now, but could get involved in key sectors like shipbuilding instead.
His comments come shortly after a deal in which the U.S. government would take a 10-percent equity stake in chipmaker Intel, funded via grants that were previously awarded to the company.
Asked about whether President Donald Trump's administration might consider also taking a stake in Nvidia, Bessent told Fox Business: "I don't think Nvidia needs financial support, so that seems not on the table right now."
"But could there be other industries where we're reshaping, something like shipbuilding, sure, there could be things like that," he said.
Bessent noted that "these are critical industries that we have to be self-sufficient (in) in the United States."
On sectors like defense, Bessent said: "I don't know if we need to take stakes in defense companies."
"We'll see whether the defense companies are fulfilling their mission in terms of providing adequate and timely deliveries for the U.S. military, as opposed to maybe an over-emphasis on the shareholders," he added.
In the case of Intel, the company said the U.S. government would receive 433.3 million shares of common stock, representing a 9.9 percent stake in the company and amounting to a $8.9 billion investment.
But it stressed that the investment was "passive ownership" with no board representation or other governance rights.
Intel has warned that the deal comes with certain risks.
These include potentially limiting its ability to secure grants from government entities in the future -- while its international business could also be affected with the U.S. government being a significant shareholder.
Critics of the deal have also warned that it could be bad for the company's viability if politics are seen as driving business decisions.
