On November 20th local time, Shakira, an international top female singer and pop diva, reached a settlement agreement with prosecutors over her tax evasion lawsuit. Shakira has accepted multiple charges from prosecutors. As part of the agreement, Shakira will pay a fine of 7.3 million euros (approximately 57 million yuan). Last September, the Barcelona court in Spain launched trial proceedings against Shakira, accusing her of evading taxes of 14.5 million euros (approximately 113 million yuan) between 2012 and 2014.
On November 21st local time, the Biden administration announced that it will invest approximately $3 billion (approximately RMB 21.5 billion) specifically to support the chip packaging industry in the United States. This investment plan is the first R&D investment project under the Chip and Science Act in the United States, indicating the importance that the US government attaches to the US chip packaging industry. It is worth mentioning that the Chip and Science Act, with an overall amount of 280 billion US dollars (approximately 2 trillion yuan), aims to revitalize the chip manufacturing industry in the United States.
In addition, the news that Tesla is about to enter the Indian market has also attracted attention. According to sources, India is approaching an agreement with Tesla, and with the Indian government agreeing to concessions to lower tariffs, Tesla Motors is expected to enter the Indian market starting from 2024. Tesla will also establish a factory in India within the next two years, with an initial minimum investment of approximately $2 billion.
Top notch actress admits to tax evasion
On November 21st, according to Red Star News, on November 20th local time, 46 year old pop diva Shakira reached an agreement with Spanish prosecutors on the first day of the tax fraud trial. Shakira accepted multiple charges from the prosecutors.
As part of the agreement, Shakira will be sentenced to three years of probation, fined 7.3 million euros (approximately 57 million yuan) for half of the outstanding taxes, and will also pay unpaid taxes and interest. Shakira also needs to pay a fine of 432000 euros (approximately 3.38 million yuan) in exchange for exempting her sentence.
According to previous reports by CCTV News, on July 29, 2022, the Spanish prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit against Shakira, demanding that she be sentenced to 8 years and 2 months in prison on charges of endangering public finances, and demanding that she pay a hefty fine of up to 23 million euros (approximately 180 million yuan).
In September 2022, the Barcelona court in Spain officially launched trial proceedings against Shakira, accusing her of tax evasion of 14.5 million euros (approximately 113 million yuan) between 2012 and 2014.
Therefore, Shakira was tried in the Barcelona court in November this year.
According to public sources, Shakira was born in Colombia in 1977. Her unique music style and sexy image are deeply loved by global fans, and she has a significant global influence. She is the only singer to perform on the World Cup stage four times. Her representative works include the theme song "Waka Waka" for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the theme song for the movie "Mad Animal City". Her records have sold 75 million copies worldwide and have won two Grammy Awards 8 Latin Grammy Awards.
Biden's major actions
On November 21st local time, the Biden administration announced that it will invest approximately $3 billion (approximately RMB 21.5 billion) specifically to support the chip packaging industry in the United States.
The official name of this investment plan is the "National Advanced Packaging and Manufacturing Plan", and its funding comes from the $11 billion dedicated to research and development under the Chip and Science Act, which is separate from the $100 billion chip manufacturing industry incentive fund pool.
This funding will be managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the Ministry of Commerce, which will establish an advanced packaging pilot facility and provide funding for new labor training programs and other projects.
It is worth mentioning that this investment plan is the first R&D investment project under the Chip and Science Act in the United States, indicating the importance that the US government attaches to the US chip packaging industry.
The US Department of Commerce stated that the US only accounts for 3% of global chip packaging capacity. In contrast, China's packaging capacity is estimated to account for 38% of the global market.
When announcing this investment plan, Vice Secretary of Commerce Laurie Localcio stated that manufacturing chips in the United States and shipping them overseas for packaging would pose unacceptable risks to the supply chain and national security.
Lokasio claimed that by 2030, the United States "will have multiple large-scale advanced packaging facilities and become the global leader in the most complex batch advanced packaging of chips.
Lucasio further stated that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce its first material and substrate funding opportunity for chip packaging plans in 2024, with future investments focused on other packaging technologies and a broader design ecosystem.
As the strategic position of the chip industry continues to improve, in August 2022, Biden signed the Chip and Science Act, with an overall amount of up to 280 billion US dollars (approximately 2 trillion yuan), aimed at revitalizing the chip manufacturing industry in the United States.
In February of this year, the US government launched the first round of funding for semiconductor manufacturing under the Chip and Science Act. As of now, the US government has received over 460 incentive applications for US semiconductor manufacturing and related projects.
Under the encouragement of the Chip Act, multiple foreign chip companies plan to land packaging projects in the United States.
Among them, South Korean chip manufacturer SK Hynix has stated that it will invest $15 billion to establish advanced packaging facilities in the United States.
In September of this year, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs revealed that TSMC and the state government were discussing adding advanced chip packaging capabilities to TSMC's factories in the state.
Musk is about to "kill" India
On November 21st, Bloomberg quoted Indian sources as reporting that India is approaching an agreement with Tesla. With the Indian government agreeing to concessions to lower tariffs, Tesla Motors is expected to enter the Indian market starting from 2024.
According to the report, insiders have stated that India may publicly announce this major news at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January 2024.
In addition, Tesla will establish a factory in India within the next two years to accelerate the development of the electric vehicle industry in India.
Regarding the site selection for Tesla's factory, sources have revealed that a choice may be made in the hometown of Indian Prime Minister Modi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, or Tamil Nadu.
A person familiar with the matter stated that Tesla's initial minimum investment in the Indian factory is approximately $2 billion and may increase the budget for purchasing automotive parts from India to $15 billion.
In addition, Tesla will also seek to produce batteries in India to reduce costs. Insiders said that the final decision has not yet been made and the plan may change.
As the world's most populous country, India is the third largest automotive market in the world. As the middle class consumer group continues to expand, India's demand for electric vehicles is also gradually increasing.
Due to the high initial cost of electric vehicles and the lack of sufficient charging stations in India, the development of the Indian electric vehicle market has been relatively slow. According to Bloomberg data, the penetration rate of electric vehicles in India in 2022 was only 1.3%.
Another reason is that India has always imposed high tariffs on overseas cars, blocking the entry of overseas electric vehicles into the Indian market.
The media pointed out that currently, vehicles priced below $40000 need to pay a 70% import tax when imported to India, while vehicles priced above $40000 face a 100% import tax.
Previously, Tesla CEO Musk repeatedly complained about high tariffs in India and made reducing tariffs a prerequisite for Tesla to build a factory in India.
Recently, Indian officials finally made concessions and revealed that the Indian government is considering lowering tariffs on imported electric vehicles for a period of five years to attract Tesla to build factories in the area.
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