Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its investment plans in Taiwan are “unchanged” amid speculation that the chipmaker might have suspended construction work on its second chip packaging plant in Chiayi County and plans to move equipment arranged for the plant to the US.
The Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported earlier yesterday that TSMC had halted the construction of the chip packaging plant, which was scheduled to be completed next year and begin mass production in 2028.
TSMC did not directly address whether construction of the plant had halted, but said its investment plans in Taiwan remain “unchanged.”
Photo: CNA
The chipmaker started to build two chip packaging plants at the Southern Taiwan Science Park’s (南部科學園區) Chiayi campus in Taibao City (太保) last year, using the sophisticated chip-on-wafer-on-substrate technology to meet strong demand for artificial intelligence applications.
The Economic Daily News report suggested that construction work at the Chiayi plant had been suspended as TSMC wanted to accelerate the pace of its investments in the US due to pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The report said that TSMC would send equipment designated for the Chiayi plant to Arizona, where it is investing US$65 billion to build three wafer fabs, with the first beginning commercial production last year.
TSMC has also pledged to invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to build three additional wafer fabs, two chip packaging plants, and one research and development center in the US.
A move to send packaging equipment to the US suggested TSMC might scale back its investments in Taiwan, the report said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it would not comment on the report, as it is up to TSMC to decide its investments and provide a clearer picture of its plans.
However, if TSMC’s Chiayi plant requires assistance, the ministry would fully cooperate to help speed up the plant’s establishment, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) said.
The ministry would contact TSMC to verify whether equipment from its Chiayi plant is being shifted to the US, he added.
Additional reporting by Meryl Kao
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