TSMC Plans New Factories in Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Taichung Over Three Years: NDC.

Taipei: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is gearing up to establish new manufacturing plants in the cities of Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Taichung within the next three years, as announced by Liu Chin-ching, the head of the National Development Council (NDC) and a board member of TSMC, during a legislative session on Thursday. According to Focus Taiwan, Liu Chin-ching revealed that the current plans involve constructing these factories, and the government is committed to ensuring adequate water and power supply for the new facilities. Liu's comments came in response to inquiries from Kuomintang lawmaker Yeh Yuan-chih regarding reports of a US$6.6 billion subsidy from the U.S. Commerce Department awarded to TSMC, contingent upon the company's commitment to producing chips with its advanced A16 process. Liu elaborated that TSMC had initially intended to relocate some of its 3 nanometer (nm) process production to the U.S., while maintaining its 2 nm production capabilities in Taiwan. He noted that cert ain products made using the A16 chip's 3 nm process might be manufactured in the U.S., attributing this decision to political factors, though he did not elaborate further. Despite the higher production costs in the U.S., Liu emphasized TSMC's readiness to fulfill customer orders if feasible, highlighting that rejecting orders is not an option for the company. Additionally, Liu mentioned he had no information regarding reports that TSMC would conduct a completion ceremony for one of its Arizona fab sites in December. He did, however, acknowledge receiving a notification to attend a board of directors meeting in the U.S. on February 10. Industry sources, as reported by foreign media, suggested that the ceremony had been postponed in light of the U.S. election results and might be rescheduled post the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.