Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima visited its headquarters in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) on Thursday, calling it a “courtesy call.”
The visit came at a time when TSMC is building a fab in the Japanese prefecture that is to produce chips using the 12-nanometer, 16-nanometer and 22-nanometer processes, as well as 28-nanometer specialty technology.
It was the first time a Kumamoto governor had visited Taiwan since TSMC invested in the prefecture.
Japanese news outlets cited Kabashima as saying before he left for Taiwan that he expected TSMC and his prefecture to forge an excellent relationship, and that his visit would facilitate exchanges and give them a better understanding of the needs of the two sides.
Kabashima and his delegation met with more than 100 representatives from Taiwan’s semiconductor, tourism and financial sectors to promote economic exchanges with Kumamoto and invite Taiwanese companies to invest there, a report said.
Kabashima’s visit to TSMC coincided with TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) saying at an investors’ conference on Thursday that TSMC is considering building a second wafer fab in Japan if it gets support from the Japanese government and its clients.
TSMC in November 2021 announced that it would invest up to US$2.12 billion in the Kumamoto fab by setting up a majority owned subsidiary in Japan to provide foundry services and have Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp take a stake of up to 20 percent in the firm.
Japan’s Denso Corp in February last year said that it would take a stake of more than 10 percent in the TSMC joint venture.
Analysts said the move by TSMC to set up the joint venture with Sony was to reinforce their partnership, with Sony being one of TSMC’s most important clients in specialty process development.
The joint venture, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, said the plant under construction in Kumamoto would have a workforce of 1,700.
About 230 of those workers would be deployed from Taiwan and about 200 would be provided by Sony Corp, which owns Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp, with the remainder being local recruits.
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