Taiwan has just given TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) the green light for its plans to set up a new chip plant in Japan. The approval was given Taiwan’s Investment Commission earlier this week.
According to TaiwanNews, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission stated that the Taiwanese chipmaker’s plans were approved since the firm’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities is still at least a generation ahead of its Japanese counterparts. In other words, the world’s largest contract chipmaker does not face risks regarding its high end chip process technology being leaked to its rivals.
Notably, the new project has TSMC work together with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS) in the form of a joint venture as Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM). The chip site will be situated in the Kumamoto Prefecture and will manufacture the less advanced 22nm and 28nm process based chips that are used in microcontrollers and image sensors. Meaning, the chips being produced will have a wide variety of applications in industries like consumer electronics to even automobiles as well.
As of right now, the initial capital expenditure for the new facility is expected to be around 195 billion New Taiwan Dollars or roughly about 7 billion US Dollars. Furthermore, the project has also garnered strong support from the Japanese government, which is also seeking to strengthen its position in semiconductors at the moment. Out of the 7 billion US Dollars, TSMC is set to invest around 2.12 billion US Dollars, while SSS will invest around 500 million US Dollars in the joint venture. The construction of the site is planned to start next year and is expected to be completed sometime in 2024.
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