Spain is due to launch a new state-owned tech investment company to bolster the semiconductor and audiovisual industries, amongst others, according to an announcement by Digital Transformation Minister Jose Luis Escriva on Monday.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Escriva said the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), would have the capacity to mobilise an initial capital of €20 billion.

The SETT will be focused on promoting and executing investments in high-tech fields like telecommunications, the minister added.

At the end of last year, the government said it would purchase up to a 10% stake in Telefonica as a response to Saudi Arabia's STC acquiring a significant stake in the telecommunications giant, Reuters news agency reports.

Furthermore, when questioned as to whether Madrid was planning to use SETT to gain that stake in Telefonica, Escriva said it would "make sense, but it's something that we'll decide over time."

The ministry also said in a separate statement that the SETT will offer consultancy services, aid in developing infrastructure for the semiconductor industry, and facilitate the attraction of investors and technical expertise for public-private partnerships.

The announcement of the SETT follows on from the US Department of Commerce and the White House last week unveiling a $1.5 billion award in direct funding to GlobalFoundries, the third-largest contract chip maker.

The federal funding originates from the $50 billion CHIPS and Science Act, designed to enhance resilience in the US domestic supply chain, reinforce competitiveness in current-generation and mature-node semiconductor manufacturing, and bolster domestic economic and national security capacities.

"Semiconductors are the brain of modern technology. While they are no larger than a fingernail and no thicker than a piece of paper, they are essential to every electronic device that we currently use — from computers and televisions to cars and washing machines," stated Vice President Kamala Harris on the announcement of the funding.