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(March 30): The chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) called on the island to produce more of the equipment essential to advanced chipmaking, shoring up its already critical role in the US$550 billion (RM2.43 trillion) industry.
Taiwan needs to build a fuller domestic semiconductor supply ecosystem, Mark Liu said. US sanctions are curtailing the flow of vital technology to China, and Taiwan could play a bigger role in supplying the machines needed to make chips worldwide, he told a conference organised by the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association on Thursday (March 30).
Governments from Japan to the US have courted Hsinchu-based TSMC, keen to get the world’s most advanced chipmaker to set up cutting-edge production within their borders. Now, Taiwan itself needs to secure its supply chain, Liu said in his capacity as the chairman of the association, a post he’s ceding to another TSMC executive.
The Taiwanese chip industry is asking the government to offer more tax incentives for foreign equipment makers to set up shop locally, Liu added.
The self-governing island is known for having the most advanced chip manufacturing technology, and TSMC is its most valuable public company. Still, Taiwan must invest more in basic science and cutting-edge research to maintain competitiveness, Liu said. It should build domestic capabilities for critical upstream technologies in order to produce the equipment and materials required to stay ahead in the chip race.
US firms Applied Materials Inc, KLA Corp and Lam Research Corp are among the leading suppliers of chipmaking gear, which may be affected by any move to localise production of their products within Taiwan.
(March 30): The chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) called on the island to produce more of the equipment essential to advanced chipmaking, shoring up its already critical role in the US$550 billion (RM2.43 trillion) industry.Taiwan needs to build a fuller domestic...
I hope Taiwan knows what they're doing, because my first reaction was that the way this is being communicated could blow up in their faces with the US Congress. Or am I misinterpreting the message?
I don’t think Mark Liu is proposing to increase TSMC tax burden, and maybe siphon off his best engineers to work in a Taiwanese Sematech-type national lab. Yet that is what is needed if he is serious about Taiwan and semicap.
As much as I having huge respect for tsmc and for Dr. Liu and for Taiwanese people in general, this sounded almost like a bad joke. We already have almost all of our biggest eggs in one basket, which is the various advanced fabs in Taiwan which not only are prone to earthquakes but also potentially the quakes from ballistic missiles coming from across the strait. We are being asked to put also all of our smaller eggs into the same basket?
Talk the talk and/or Walk the walk. Samsung and TSMC have urged governments for local WFE and raw material suppliers for years. What are the local WFE big names we have up to now? The entry barrier becomes higher and higher, and not easy to be viable.
Makes zero sense to me. Be careful competing with the ecosystem that you so carefully created. Collaboration is key to the safety of Taiwan. Frenemies is not.
Mark Liu was the Chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (NOT TSMC). The association includes all semiconductor companies in Taiwan such ask Mediatek, UMC, ASE, and also small semiconductor suppliers.
On that day the new chairman was elected. So Mark Liu spoke on behalf of Semiconductor Industry in Taiwan instead of TSMC.
President of Taiwan asked the chairman of the association to establish President's Council of Advisors on Semiconductor (PCAS）. So Mark Liu's role is to give advice to Taiwanese government for the whole semiconductor industry in Taiwan (not just TSMC).
Mark Liu's advise to the President of Taiwan includes
*cultivating technology talents with schools and industries,
*strengthening the protection of commercial secrets and IP
*developing green manufacturing and supply chains
*enhancing communication among member companies
*developing critical technologies for equipment and materials to maintain long-term competitive advantage in the ecosystem.
*Invest more on fundamental science and forward-looking research
If you listen to the whole speech, he was not asking Taiwanese government to help TSMC build a complete supply chain in Taiwan.
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