The government would endeavor to create pragmatic policies to support the local semiconductor industry, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
At a news conference before the opening ceremony of SEMICON Taiwan, the nation’s biggest IC trade show, Lai said the government would continue to implement tax breaks, ease regulations and introduce proposals to resolve the “five shortages” to encourage large semiconductor firms, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), to invest more at home.
The so-called five shortages — water, electricity, workers, land and talent — have long plagued the industrial sector.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, last year announced a plan to build an advanced 3-nanometer wafer fab in Tainan at a cost of more than NT$600 billion (US$19.48 billion) to maintain its lead over its peers.
Thanks to efforts by the government, industry and academia, TSMC decided to stay in Taiwan to develop sophisticated processes, including 7-nanometer, 5-nanometer and 3-nanometer technologies, Lai said.
Other semiconductor giants, such as ASE Technology Holding Co and Winbond Electronics Corp, have also pledged to invest more in the nation, he said.
“Taiwan has become one of the most important hubs for the global semiconductor industry,” Lai said. “The government is determined to help the local semiconductor industry move forward.”
Lai said he was delighted to see a larger SEMICON Taiwan this year, with more than 650 exhibitors attending, at a time when the nation’s semiconductor industry continues to grow.
The exhibition, which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the global semiconductor industry, is to run through tomorrow at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
It is being organized by SEMI, a global industry association of companies in the electronics industry’s supply chain.
The production value of the nation’s semiconductor industry is forecast to reach about NT$3 trillion in 2021, SEMI analyst Tseng Jui-yu (曾瑞榆) said on Tuesday, adding that the industry is expected to see annual output growth of 6 to 8 percent from 2020 to 2021.
The total production value of the local semiconductor industry last year reached NT$2.46 billion, making it the world’s third-largest after the US and South Korea, the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center said.
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