Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is to invest a total of NT$1.5 trillion (US$45.2 billion) to expand its advanced 2-nanometer chip capacity in Kaohsiung, bolstering its commitment to augment investment and technology development at home.
The world’s biggest contract chipmaker unveiled the massive domestic investment after boosting its investment in the US by US$100 billion at the beginning of last month, fanning fears that Taiwan risks losing its competitive edge as TSMC plans to produce more advanced chips, including 2-nanometers, and set up a research and development center in the US for the first time.
TSMC yesterday held a capacity expansion ceremony at the construction site of its 2-nanometer fab, dubbed Fab 22, in Kaohsiung. The fab is to house five chip manufacturing facilities, with the first one set to enter volume production in the second half of this year, the company said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
“Today’s 2-nanometer capacity expansion ceremony holds significant importance for global semiconductor technology development, marking the successful progress of TSMC’s world-leading 2-nanometer process.
It showcases TSMC’s commitment to meeting strong market demand, continuously expanding capacity to support customers,” TSMC co-chief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛) said at the ceremony.
“In Kaohsiung, we will have Phase 3, Phase 4 and Phase 5 wafer fabrication plants. All of them will germinate here,” Chyn said.
The chipmaker said it is currently installing equipment at the first phase of Fab 22 and has completed structural engineering works at Phase 2.
Government officials, including Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) attended the ceremony.
With NT$1.5 trillion in investment, Fab 22 would create more than 7,000 direct high-tech positions and 20,000 construction jobs, it said.
Aside from its revenue, TSMC generates about NT$3 trillion in production value a year and 500,000 jobs through its supply chain partners and related services, it said.
TSMC has also been holding intensive discussions with the authorities to acquire more land to build new chipmaking facilities, Chyn said.
The company said its 2-nanometer process technology is expected to be widely applied in customers’ next-generation leading technology products, including supercomputers, mobile devices and cloud-based data centers.
TSMC estimated that 2-nanometer technology would create end products with a market value of US$2 trillion within five years of volume production.
TSMC also has a 2-nanometer chip fab in Hsinchu, which is progressing as planned.
TSMC said almost all technology innovators in the world are closely collaborating with it to adopt 2-nanometer technology, given its 10 to 15 percent speed improvement and 25 to 30 percent lower power consumption compared with 3-nanometer technology.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the