Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) aims to build a second chipmaking plant in Arizona, after it committed to building a US$12 billion complex in the state, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the plans.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker would announce its intention to establish another facility north of Phoenix, adjacent to the factory under construction, the newspaper reported.
The new investment should be similar to the first project’s, it added.
Photo: Lam Yik Fei, Bloomberg
Representatives for the company did not respond to requests for comment.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is trying to attract investments in US chipmaking, part of efforts to counter China’s ambitions and secure components vital to US national security. That effort accelerated after widespread shortages that began in late 2020 and last year drove home how chips were central to the production of everything from vehicles to smartphones.
Washington, which is dangling incentives of about US$50 billion for local projects, has hailed TSMC’s Arizona expansion as a triumph in endeavors to bring advanced chipmaking to the US.
The Taiwanese company has said that it costs much more to produce semiconductors in the US, although higher expenses are manageable with state support.
TSMC, whose production sites are mostly in Taiwan, has started to diversify over the past few years to help meet demand in major countries seeking to bolster domestic semiconductor production. It joins rivals, including Samsung Electronics Co, which is establishing a US$17 billion fab in Texas.
TSMC is building a US$7 billion facility in Japan and is also in early talks with the German government about potentially establishing a plant in the country.
On Tuesday, TSMC’s board of directors approved a budget of US$5.71 billion, with the vast majority to be spent on production involving specialty and advanced manufacturing processes.
TSMC said advanced manufacturing processes would receive about 70 to 80 percent of the funding, while 10 to 20 percent would be spent on specialty processes, with the remaining about 10 percent earmarked for advanced packaging and testing, as well as photomasking development.
TSMC last month said it would cut its capital expenditure for this year to about US$36 billion from the lower end of a range from US$40 billion to US$44 billion in the previous capital spending plan, citing short-term market uncertainty.
The global semiconductor industry is undergoing inventory adjustments at a time when major central banks have raised key interest rates to fight fast-growing inflation, which has hurt demand.
Additional reporting by CNA
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective