NXP Semiconductors NV said it is seeking to diversify its manufacturing capacity geographically to further enhance chip supply resilience together with its Taiwanese foundry partners amid the uncertainty of geopolitical tensions and natural disasters.
NXP made the remarks after it announced a new joint venture with Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (VIS, 世界先進) on Wednesday.
The companies plan to invest US$7.8 billion to build a 12-inch fab in Singapore, and the joint venture, VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, would begin construction of the fab in the second half of this year at the earliest.
Photo courtesy of NXP Semiconductors NV
“Chip storage is one of the key topics we need to address,” NXP chief technology officer Lars Reger told a media briefing on Thursday.
To prevent a recurrence of the chip supply disruptions of 2021, automakers requested chip supplies from two different continents or from two foundry vendors, Reger said.
NXP is also boosting its in-house capacity and seeking external supply from foundry partners, he added.
Similar to the creation of the joint venture European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (ESMC), the aim is to have a significant share to secure and have a supply capability in place, Reger said in response to a question about the company’s rationale behind the Singapore investment and NXP’s capacity outsourcing strategy.
ESMC is a joint venture between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), NXP, Robert Bosch and Infineon Technologies AG. The fab, which would cost more than 10 billion euros (US$10.83 billion), is to produce 16-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips when it starts operations in 2027.
TSMC produces NXP’s S32 series chips using its 5-nanometer technology at a fab in Taichung, Reger said.
Aside from geopolitical tensions, natural disasters are also put into consideration, he said.
Severe flooding in Germany one-and-half years ago damaged a copper wire factory and caused a deficiency of chip supply, Reger said. The copper wires are key materials for wire bonding interconnects, a chip packaging solution.
The fab in Singapore is to produce power management chips used in cars and robots, rather than complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensors, which already have a sufficient supply in the market, Reger said on concerns over potential overcapacity.
“Don’t be irritated by the current recession we have,” Reger said.
Asked why it selected Singapore as the place to build its first 12-inch fab with VIS, Reger said talent acquisition is one of the major reasons.
“There’re not many ecosystems that can offer good talent,” he said.
Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, south Germany, France and some locations in the US are semiconductor hot spots to build fabs today,” Reger added.
NXP also has experience in working with partners in Singapore, as it had formed a joint venture with TSMC, Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Co (SSMC), in the city state more than 20 years ago, Reger said. SSMC produces analog chips, including power management chips.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS