Japan is hoping to receive an investment of 1 trillion yen ($9.2 billion) from chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) and Sony Group
TSMC is rumored to formulating plans of building a semiconductor foundry in Japan. The Taiwan-based semiconductor giant might move ahead with the plan if the conditions between the United States and China continue to deteriorate. A report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) states that TSMC of Taiwan is considering building a new semiconductor plant in Kumamoto Prefecture of Japan.
The new plant, as per the experts, is expected to use 12-inch wafers and produce 16-nm and 28-nm products. It might fabricate system semiconductors used in automobiles and smartphones. As a matter of fact, the shortage of these has been deepening in the world.
Days ago, it was also reported that about 20 Japanese companies, including electronic component maker Ibiden Co, will work with TSMC to develop chip manufacturing technology in Japan. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, intends to bear around half the project’s cost of about 37 billion yen ($337 million), the remaining half of which will be incurred by the Japanese government.
Japan, as per the reports, is hoping to receive an investment of 1 trillion yen ($9.2 billion) from chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) and Sony Group to build Japan’s first 20 nanometre chip foundry. Japan’s most advanced semiconductor plant at the moment, is a 40 nanometre chip factory operated by Renesas Electronics Corp near Tokyo.
TSMC, meanwhile, has begun the construction of the $12 billion chip fab at a site in the state of Arizona in the United States. The plant has a planned output of 20,000 wafers per month, and falls in the world’s largest chipamker’s plan to invest $100 billion over the next three years to increase the capacity of its factories.
TSMC is also planning to build 5 fabs in the state, in addition to the one already in development, although it is yet to be confirmed by the company itself.
