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Japan Hardware

TSMC To Build Second Japan Chip Factory, Raising Investment To $20 Billion (reuters.com) 44

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC announced plans to build a second chip factory in Japan by the end of 2027, bringing total investment in its Japan venture to more than $20 billion. "Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co announced plans in 2021 to build a $7 billion chip plant in Kumamoto in southern Japan's Kyushu," notes Reuters. From the report: In a statement, TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said its majority-owned unit Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing in Kumamoto would build a second fabrication plant, or fab, in response to rising customer demand. The second fab will begin construction by the end of this year and with both factories the site is expected to have total monthly capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers to be used for automotive, industrial, consumer and high performance computing-related applications, TSMC said. The capacity plan may be further adjusted based upon customer demand, it added.

TSMC's expansion in Kyushu is central to the Japanese government's efforts to rebuild the country's position as a leading chip manufacturing centre and ensure the stable supply of chips amid trade tensions between the United States and China. The decision to build a second fab is a vote of confidence by TSMC in Japan where construction of the first fab has run smoothly and which, Reuters has reported, it sees as a source of diligent workers with a government that is easy to deal with.

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TSMC To Build Second Japan Chip Factory, Raising Investment To $20 Billion

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  • by Kernel Kurtz ( 182424 ) on Wednesday February 07, 2024 @08:08PM (#64223594)
    If Winnie decides to invade and they need to self-sabotage their Taiwan factories it's best for them they have lots of distributed backups in friendly countries.
  • by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Wednesday February 07, 2024 @08:13PM (#64223600)

    as a source of diligent workers with a government that is easy to deal with.

    Translation: America has become that fucking hard to work with.

    And exactly no one is surprised. Well, except for 81 million voters. They’re shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Or maybe the US Gov hasn't been supplying enough "lubrication":
      https://www.datacenterknowledg... [datacenterknowledge.com]

      More than a year after US President Joe Biden signed the Chips and Science Act into law â" which is supposed to provide tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to chipmakers expanding in the US â" the administration has yet to hand out any grants to major chipmakers like TSMC or Intel Corporation It has so far only provided some modest financial support to two minor industry players.

      By contrast, TSMC publicized its plans for a more modest plant in Japan later than its Arizona project, but it has already received funds from the Japanese government. The facility is on track to start production in late 2024, according to the latest update the company provided.

      • $600 billion+ in quarterly revenue. Largest contract chipmaker on the planet. Brags about Apple and Nvidia as being major customers. So tell me something; why in the hell would a company like that need to wait around for 3rd party funding, if they themselves see a business need to expand? Seems like quite the lame excuse.

      • by Anonymous Coward

        Maybe because the US government hasn't received any assurances that it won't just be used for a stock buyback? Plus, the Republicans stomped that bill to death, adding a ton of crap to make it unworkable.

        What the US government needs to do is build and own some fabs by themselves. One set of fabs at 20 nanometer, where yield is focused on, and a set of fabs focused on nanometers and performance over everything else. Doesn't matter who builds it, but it would be nice if was Intel, and not TSMC, or even SMI

        • by Anonymous Coward
          TSMC: give me the money!
          USA: show me that you're really gonna build it!
          TSMC: show me the money!
          etc
          Reuters: TSMC to build second Japan chip factory, raising investment to $20 bln

          *MJ popcorn meme*
          • TSMC earns $600 billion+ every quarter.

            Being greedy and wanting someone else to foot the bill for your new facility is one thing, but it’s quite next-level greed fuckery to demand that when $20 billion amounts to a damn rounding error.

            Either TSMC finds a need to expand operations, or they do not. Seems quite corrupt to hold Governments captive over promises of funding for those who can clearly afford to finance their own damn business.

            • How do you set up a company in a foreign country?
              Well: you can have as many billions as you want.
              You can not just set up a company in Japan or Thailand, or for that matter: Switzerland or Lichtenstein.

              THE COMPANY NEEDS TO BE OWNED 51% BY LOCALS The percentage might vary.

              So you need local investors or a corrupt lawyer who stands as the 51% man and funnels the money into the company during the founding. Do you want a corrupt lawyer as 51% share holder in your "overseas" company?

              So, if you want to build a fact

              • THE COMPANY NEEDS TO BE OWNED 51% BY LOCALS The percentage might vary.

                Yeah. Depending on country, the percentage may vary al the way down to ZERO.

                So you need local investors or a corrupt lawyer who stands as the 51% man and funnels the money into the company during the founding. Do you want a corrupt lawyer as 51% share holder in your "overseas" company?

                So, if you want to build a factory that costs 100 billion, it makes sense to have an "Incorporation" behind it in the 40 to 50 billion range. And if the law is similar as in Thailand: you need 20 to 25 billion local investment/investors/share holders.

                None of this dismisses the fact that even 100 billion is considered chump change to them. Hell, with their influence and money, you can probably buy or negotiate your way out of that 51% excuse. It’s certainly a rather easy way to welcome a TSMC expansion into your country if you wanted it, while dismissing the greedy corrupt competition.

                • Hell, with their influence and money, you can probably buy or negotiate your way out of that 51% excuse. No. You can't. Hoe the fuck would that work in a state of law????

    • Given the noises various people in the USA have made (ie will not support NATO if invaded), actions made (Billions in Ukraine aid held up), etc etc etc the USA has in its self become a risk and should not be relied on. Better to diversify into other countries.
      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Put the propaganda crack pipe down for a sec. You have to realize that the US is being hit hard by the most sophisticated, brutal, multi-pronged psy-ops operations in the history of recorded civilization. Every shitpot nation that loves planting a boot in a journalist or dissident's face is sending billions of funding for psy-ops operations, first popping up on Telegram and Tik-Tok, then Twitter, and by then, you get people acting as BS amplifiers doing the equivalent of blending up cow patties and sprayi

        • by Anonymous Coward

          Russia is going to turn China into a vassal state? Give me some of whatever it is you were smoking to come up with that gem.

        • tl;dr, the US isn't doing too bad. Yes, it is the target of the most brutal and prolific propaganda in world history, but realistically, things are going more stable than most of the world. There is a reason why many, many Chinese immigrants are pounding to get in via the Texas border.

          Sorry, but after you just got done detailing how many other countries are mere meals away from being overthrown or collapsing, the whole by comparison political argument sounds quite lame, and results in people not believing or trusting the people spewing that nonsense (Reality tends to be quite the clarifier.)

          Just because America might be a bit less fucked that the quite fucked areas of the world, doesn’t mean it’s doing good. It just means we’ve moved the goalposts to enable shitty lead

        • "perhaps longer if Russia decides to turn the country into a vassal state."

          You have that exactly backwards.

          Russia has gone to China for supply. They literally cannot function without them.

          On the other hand, with Russia spending troops rapidly in Ukraine there has never been a better time for China to invade Russia... Just don't do it in the winter.

          • You definitely do it in the winter.

            All other times of the year, the land is unpassable. Perhaps with a short window during harvest season ... if there is a harvest.

    • by Dr. Tom ( 23206 )

      Just be nice to her and she won't use the nuclear weapons (this is life advice dudes)

  • Are Japanese unions going to block construction, like US unions did?

  • Japan will gladly welcome foreign investment, just not the foreigner

I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. -- Isaac Asimov

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