TSMC plans to expand its new semiconductor facility in Japan - PingWest

TSMC plans to expand its new semiconductor facility in Japan

TSMC

TSMC plans to expand its new semiconductor facility in Japan

Rebbeca Ren

posted on February 17, 2022 2:31 am

An additional $1.6 billion will be spent on expansion to improve production capacity and fulfill market demand.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker, said on Tuesday it will expand its chip plant in Japan.

The manufacturing facility, which is under construction with Sony, will spend an extra $1.6 billion on expansion. In November, TSMC announced that it is building a $7 billion plant in southern Japan, with production scheduled to start by the end of 2024.

The fab is originally expected to directly create about 1,500 high-tech professional jobs and to have a monthly production capacity of 45,000 12-inch wafers.

But according to TSMC's most recent statement, the company has opted to raise manufacturing capacity and monthly production capacity to 55,000 12-inch wafers in order to fulfill market demand, at a new total cost of around $8.6 billion.

Auto supplier Denso Corp would put $350 million into the Japan factory in exchange for a 10% ownership, said TSMC.

TSMC places a high value on the Japanese market. A Japan subsidiary was established in 1997 and the Japan Design Center was set up in 2019 to serve its global customers. Currently, it's working with Japanese partners to expand the frontiers of advanced packaging technology with the 3DIC Research Center in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Also, faced with a global chip shortage and intensifying competition in the tech sector around the world, Japan wants to deepen its ties with chip makers, especially TSMC, which has the world's leading technology in the production of logic semiconductors.

Last year, the Japanese government has pledged to invest about 400 billion yen ($3.46 billion) in TSMC's Japan factory as part of its 600 billion budget to support advanced semiconductor manufacturers.

TSMC last year pledged to spend $100 billion over the next three years to expand chip production and is building a $12 billion chip manufacturing plant in Arizona, US.