1. Home
  2. Electronics Design
  3. Geopolitics and IC Production

Geopolitics and IC Production

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, or maybe this is nothing new, just the first time I've heard of it. TSMC was planning a new 7 billion dollar factory. Now they are adding 1.6 billion dollars to expand capacity from 45,000 12 inch wafers to 55,000 wafers per month.

What surprised me is they are building it in Japan. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the Chinese being more aggressive about Taiwan being a part of the PRC.

Since so much of the demand for chips are by the car companies, and the auto part company Denso Corp has a 10% stake in the new facility, maybe they are demanding the plant be in Japan where they make the cars, again to be independent of what happens in Taiwan.

Reply to
Rick C
Loading thread data ...

It's also possible that it makes the logistics easier - if the main customers of the plant are in Japan, and they get at least some of their raw materials there, then it makes sense to build it there. Maybe there are tax reasons too.

TMSC may also feel that having everything in Taiwan is a vulnerability independent of PRC - a major plant in another country reduces the risk from earthquakes, storms, plagues, and the like. But then it might have made more sense to go for the USA or somewhere in Europe.

You are probably right to suspect PRC / Taiwan politics to have been at least part of the reasoning, but it might not be the only reason.

Reply to
David Brown

Also if much of their facilities are outside Taiwan it will lower the Chinese appetites, thus perhaps lower the US costs to keep guarding the island. Good news anyway.

Reply to
Dimiter_Popoff

TMSC is building a foundry in Arizona.

.

formatting link

Joe Gwinn

Reply to
Joe Gwinn

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.