Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry company, is set to build its first semiconductor plant in Europe in Germany.
According to foreign media including TrendForce on Wednesday local time, TSMC will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its semiconductor plant in Dresden, Germany on Tuesday. It has been a year since it announced its investment in a European semiconductor plant in August last year.
TSMC Chairman Weijerja, key executives and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend the event.
TSMC has established ESMC, a joint venture with Infineon, Bosch, and NXP to advance into Europe. ESMC produces wafers (semiconductor disks) for automobile and industrial use at its plant in Dresden. TSMC will invest 10 billion euros, and the EU and German governments will provide half of the total of 5 billion euros.
TSMC has recently diversified its supply chain by increasing its production bases overseas. It is also building factories in Arizona in the U.S. and Kumamoto in Japan. On top of that, it has set up production bases in Europe, using the European Union (EU) as a stepping stone to expand its semiconductor production capacity.
On the other hand, foundry rival Intel has been delaying its plans to build an Italian semiconductor, delaying its investment in Europe. As a result, the market influence of the top-ranked TSMC, which currently holds a 60% share in global semiconductor foundry, is expected to expand further.
JULIE KIM
US ASIAJOURNAL
