Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said yesterday it was still considering venue options for its new advanced wafer fab, contrary to a local media report earlier in the day that the chipmaker was planning to build a 1-nanometer wafer plant in Chiayi County.
While the world’s largest contract chipmaker did not directly comment on the matter of Chiayi as a potential location, TSMC said in a statement that the company would need to consider all factors before making a final decision on where to build the 1-nanometer fab.
The Chinese-language Economic Daily News cited unnamed sources as saying that TSMC had submitted an application to the authorities supervising the Chiayi section of the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) for 100 hectares of land so it could expand operations.
Photo: Dado Ruvic, Reuters
The report said TSMC was expected to use 60 of the 100-hectare parcel to build a 1-nanometer fab, while the remaining 40 hectares were to be used to set up an advanced IC packaging and testing plant to provide a one-stop service for its clients.
It is estimated that TSMC would spend more than NT$1 trillion (US$31.89 billion) in its 1-nanometer process development, the report said.
In the statement, TSMC said that Taiwan is the hub for the chipmaker’s worldwide expansion.
TSMC added that it was not ruling out any potential venue and that it would continue working with science park authorities to choose a location for the investment.
However, the chipmaker did not specify whether the authorities it was in discussions with were the Southern Taiwan Science Park, the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) or the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
Last month, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) told a Taichung City Council hearing that TSMC would build a fab in the second phase of Central Taiwan Science Park expansion that would use more advanced technology than the 2-nanometer process.
TSMC is building a 2-nanometer fab in Hsinchu County’s Baoshan Township (寶山) with commercial production scheduled to start next year. The 2-nanometer production is to be expanded to Kaohsiung with two fabs planned.
Last week, TSMC said it was evaluating the possibility of building a third 2-nanometer process fab in Kaohsiung following strong demand.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit today said in a written response that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and would not appeal in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets case. Last month, a court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron NT$150 million (US$4.74 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensitive chip technology.
ROUGH RECORDS: Bonds in Japan, as well is in New Zealand, Australia and the US, are seeing the effects of a nervy market as stock exchanges across Asia edge down A deepening slump in Japanese government bonds added fuel to the selloff in global debt markets as rising oil prices stoked inflation fears and pushed yields to multi-decade highs. Japan’s 30-year yield yesterday surged as much as 20 basis points to the highest level since the tenor’s debut in 1999, before paring some of the move. Shorter-maturity Japanese debt was also under pressure, underscored by weak demand at a sale of five-year notes that offered a record-high coupon of 2 percent. Concerns over inflation and government spending rippling through markets including the US, Australia and New Zealand are being amplified in Japan,
Wall Street is licking its chops over an unprecedented slate of massive initial public offerings (IPOs) set to arrive in the coming months, beginning with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) next month. That is expected to be followed by artificial intelligence (AI) rivals OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The trio of mega listings, each eyeing valuations around US$1 trillion or more, constitutes a heady period of elevated risk and reward. SpaceX is targeting an IPO that would raise up to US$80 billion — about double the funds generated from all IPOs last year. OpenAI and Anthropic are eyeing IPOs raising US$60 billion. “We’re
RSS