TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker, plans to start building a new factory in Japan next year and begin mass production there in 2024, according to its chief executive.
TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia said at a press conference on Thursday that the Japanese factory project will use mature 22nm and 28nm technologies and has received support from Japan. "We have received strong welcome from the Japanese government." Wei Zhejia said.
TSMC's new specialized technology fab in Japan is receiving widespread attention because it comes at a time when geopolitical tensions are causing a realignment of the global semiconductor industry landscape. Mainland China, the United States, Europe and Japan are all looking to increase local chip production capabilities.
Wei Zhejia's comments partially confirmed a Nikkei report that TSMC and Japan's Sony Group are considering building a chip factory in Kumamoto, southern Japan, with the Japanese government providing up to half of the approximately 800 billion yen investment.
Wei Zhejia said that the planned Japanese factory will mainly focus on chip production in the automotive field and is still awaiting approval from the TSMC board of directors.
Senior analyst Sravan Kundojjala at Strategy Analytics said: "Mature nodes make sense for Japan. The company now seems more open than before in terms of geographic expansion of advanced node manufacturing."
TSMC also said it did not rule out Possibility of setting up factories in other regions, including Europe. The world's largest chipmaker is being courted by governments looking to protect semiconductor supply chains by bringing chip manufacturing home.
Amid tight supply in the global chip industry, Wei Zhejia said that TSMC will continue to be affected by tight production capacity, and this situation may last until 2022.
The company on Thursday reported record third-quarter revenue of $14.88 billion, up 22.6% year over year and up 12% from the previous quarter. Sales benefited from strong demand from smartphones, high-performance computing, Internet of Things device makers and automotive applications.
Advanced technologies, namely 7-nanometer and beyond, accounted for 52% of TSMC's total wafer revenue in the third quarter. Company executives said mass production of its most advanced 3-nanometer node is on track for the second half of 2022, and customer participation in the new technology is also high.
During TSMC’s earnings call, executives assured investors that it would not share critical customer and inventory information with the U.S. government.
The U.S. Commerce Department issued an "information request" late last month asking chipmakers including TSMC, Samsung and Intel to "voluntarily" provide information on their sales, inventory and customer details to quantify semiconductor supply chain risks. .
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