Taiwan Hsinchu TSMC headquarters logo. Photo = REUTERS
When the US semiconductor company Intel announced to enter the foundry (consigned semiconductor production) market, a minister came out from Taiwan, which has TSMC, the world’s No.
According to Reuters on the 24th, Taiwan’s economic minister Wang Mei-Hwa (minister) said at a press conference that day, “it is not a challenge (for the Taiwan foundry industry)” about Intel’s plan. In Taiwan, there are TSMC, the No. 1 company with 56% of the world’s foundry market, and UMC, the 3rd place with 7% of the world’s foundry market.
“The situation in Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem is very good,” Wang said. “Taiwan foundry companies are excellent and continue to develop technology.” He added that he is looking forward to cooperation between Taiwan and the US on semiconductors, and added, “I hope the US will increase its investment in Taiwan.”
On the 23rd, Intel announced that it will invest 20 billion dollars to build two fabs (factory) in Arizona, USA, and enter the foundry business. It is analyzed that the will of President Joe Biden, who is showing a will to foster the US semiconductor industry, has influenced it. According to Intel’s announcement, TSMC shares in the Taiwanese stock market on the 24th fell 3.03% from the previous day. The share price of Samsung Electronics, the world’s second-largest foundry company, fell 0.98% from the previous day.
On this day, the Taiwanese government announced a water distribution plan to cope with the severe drought. The main goal is to stop supplying water to central regions such as Taichung from the 4th of next month and send water tanks if necessary. However, it has been decided to exclude the water distribution from the Shinjuku Science Park and industrial complex areas where TSMC and UMC fabs are located. In order to prevent a decline in the storage rate of reservoirs that supply industrial water to the Shinjuku Science Park, it is supplementing water and fresh water from reservoirs such as Taipei, which have relatively little space.
Reporter Gowoon Lee [email protected]
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