The Japanese government has made a major breakthrough by inviting the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), to set up a plant in Japan. In order to disperse the risks brought by the U.S.-China trade and technology war and the rising geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea, TSMC will set up a joint venture with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to set up an advanced packaging and testing plant in Tokyo under Japan’s official invitation. TSMC has become a key player in the U.S.-Japanese tie-up system to build a new defense line for semiconductor technology.
TSMC and the Japanese side of the cooperation case, is expected to sign a memorandum of cooperation in the near future and announced to the public, the two sides will each contribute half, this will also be TSMC in the establishment of the first overseas packaging and testing plant.
It is understood that in the United States on the grounds of national security hope TSMC to set up factories in the United States, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is concerned that will weaken Japan’s position in the global semiconductor, but also immediately proposed to invite TSMC to set up fab plans in Japan.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry even invited Japanese semiconductor equipment and materials manufacturers to participate in the joint venture agreement signed with TSMC in mid-April last year to establish the Japan Advanced Semiconductor Research and Development Center (JASRC), and set aside 190 billion yen in funding to subsidize companies participating in the program over the years.
TSMC later considered that although Japan has advantages in semiconductor equipment and materials technology, but the wafer manufacturing side, the lack of a complete supply chain, and will disperse TSMC’s R & D resources in advanced processes, and finally decided to abandon the establishment of fabs in Japan.
After Japan failed to fight for TSMC to set up a fab, the goal turned to convince TSMC to set up a back-end advanced packaging and testing plant in Japan. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s consideration is that mainland China has included Taiwan within the nine-dash line of its sovereign jurisdiction in the South China Sea, and with the start of the U.S.-China trade war, the U.S. has raised its full force to suppress China with technology, and China is constantly disturbing Taiwan with its warplanes in order to maintain its sovereignty, and tensions in the Taiwan Strait have risen.
Taiwan’s foundry and back-end packaging, the market share of the world’s largest, the Japanese government fears that in case of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the global chip will immediately break the chain, including Apple, Qualcomm, Pfizer, Ceres and other U.S. semiconductor plants, most of which are entrusted to TSMC production, without TSMC technology, global semiconductor companies will not be able to produce products; if TSMC factories fall into the hands of mainland China, the United States and allied countries of the entire semiconductor supply chain is afraid of collapse.
Before TSMC selected to set up a factory in Arizona, the United States, of course, can be dispersed in the event of conflict between Taiwan and China, the apex of the chip to obtain sources, but all chips still have to be used in various systems and products through the back-end packaging, and Taiwan in the global outsourcing of packaging accounted for more than 50%, the world’s first. Therefore, the Japanese government has turned to actively fight for TSMC to set up advanced packaging and testing plants in Japan in the past six months, which finally came true.
Recent Comments