Japan plans to invite TSMC to build joint chip plant

Japan is aiming to invite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd or other global chipmakers to build an advanced chip manufacturing plant jointly with domestic chip equipment suppliers, the Yomiuri daily reported on Sunday.

The Japanese government hopes to tap the expertise of global chipmakers to rejuvenate the lagging domestic chip industry as advanced chip technologies have become a focal point in national security issues, Yomiuri said.

The government is planning to offer a total of several hundred billion yen, or equivalent to several billion dollars, over multiple years to overseas chipmakers who join the project, the daily said, without citing sources.

The report gave no timeline for the project.

A TSMC spokesperson denied there was any such plan at the moment when contacted by Reuters but said the company would not rule anything out in the future. The Japanese industry ministry did not answer calls.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, in May unveiled plans for a $12 billion plant in the United State in an apparent win for the Trump administration’s efforts to wrestle global technology supply chains back from China.

-Reuters