According to a report on the 20th, the global foundry leader TSMC has posed challenges to the company's business due to the escalation of Sino-US tensions. In order to reduce geopolitical risks, it plans to expand its business in Japan.

Given that the global semiconductor industry chain is in a state of turmoil due to political, epidemic and other factors, especially countries such as the United States and Japan are worried about the rapid rise of Chinese semiconductors and the excessive concentration of global chip manufacturing in Taiwan. Therefore, TSMC is building a factory in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan, for its first fab in Japan, investing about billions of dollars and receiving subsidies from the Japanese government. The Kumamoto factory will focus on the production of chips with mature processes and is scheduled to start shipping by the end of 2024.

People familiar with the matter said that the Japanese government has privately hinted that TSMC hopes that in addition to building factories in Japan, it can further expand its investment in Japan, but the relevant discussions have not yet been finalized, and TSMC is studying the relevant feasibility internally.

If TSMC decides to expand its investment in Japan, it may produce more advanced chips in Kyushu.

In this regard, TSMC said that the Japanese factory is currently proceeding according to the original plan, and the progress is good; it does not comment on market rumors. Wei Zhejia, president of TSMC, said in a briefing for the legal person a few days ago that Japanese investment is progressing according to progress.

Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) held its 2022 annual meeting on the 19th. Liu Deyin, chairman of TSMC and chairman of TSIA, said in his speech that the new crown epidemic has been spreading for almost 3 years, coupled with the Sino-US trade war, and geopolitical conflicts such as the Ukraine-Russia war and Cross-strait tensions and other situations continue to escalate, deepening the impact on the global semiconductor industry supply chain, and facing more severe challenges than before. However, in the past year, Taiwan's semiconductor industry has still achieved brilliant achievements in "manufacturing first, packaging and testing first, and IC design second" in this industry chain. 19.7% growth in 2021.

It is understood that JASM, a joint venture between TSMC and Japan's Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS) and Denso Corporation (DENSO), will build a factory in Kumamoto, Japan, and is expected to start production in 28nm, 22nm, 16nm and 12nm processes before the end of 2024. , with a monthly production capacity of 55,000 pieces.