Abu Dhabi launched an attempt to rival Taiwanese dominance of the semiconductor industry on Monday with a $1.8bn offer for Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, the loss-making Singaporean foundry chipmaker.

ATIC’s plan to merge Chartered into its AMD joint venture would create the world’s fourth­biggest foundry chipmaker

In a deal likely to herald further consolidation in a troubled sector, the emirate’s Advanced Technology Investment Company plans to merge the Singaporean company into Globalfoundries, its joint venture with Advanced Micro Devices of the US. The move would create the world’s fourth-biggest foundry chipmaker.