With the current ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips, most of the tech companies around the world are looking towards TSMC to fulfill the current vacuum left behind by the pandemic and cryptocurrency boom. Recently, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced that it is going through “due diligence” to build a fabrication plant in Japan. Many believe that this is a strategically important move for japan, by the world’s leading chipmaker.
The company representatives also answer a question-and-answer session after the company reported its financial results for the second quarter. They also gave a detailed explanation of plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. and China.
However, when asked about the company’s plans for Japan, the politicians of the country believe that this proposed investment is of importance to the country. And it seems that TSMC is also looking forward to this proposed deal.
“In Japan, we’re in the due diligence process to do a wafer fab.”
Chairman of the TSMC, Mark Liu, stated that the company board members are yet to reach any final decision as to the plans on building a fab facility in Japan. However, he said that the outcome will depend on customer demand in the country.
The chairman of the company, Liu also described the Japan fab as “specialty technology,” which is a term that usually refers to mature node chips that serve specific or niche markets. It’s a well-known fact that due to the chip shortages which have disrupted the production of automobiles and other products, countries like the U.S., China, Europe, and Japan are on the leading path to increase their domestic production capabilities.
In other news, Japan’s share of global semiconductor sales has fallen to just 10% in 2019, down from 50% in 1988. The island country also still has 84 chip factories, which is the most in the world, however, they are still not producing enough high-end products to meet the demands.
