TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on Monday (Aug. 24) announced plans to acquire property in Taiwan as it seeks to boost production in the south.
The world’s largest dedicated semiconductor chipmaker is in talks with HannStar Display Corporation to procure a factory at a cost of NT$4.84 billion (US$164 million) for business operations and chip production. The facilities, which are currently under construction, cover a combined area of 297,015 square meters, reported CNA.
The move represents the fourth time TSMC has acquired property in the island country this year, with the investments totaling over NT$10 billion. All four plants are located around the Southern Taiwan Science Park, a tech hub that covers Tainan and Kaohsiung.
The effort to expand its production base is unusual for the chipmaker and signals its intention to use the facilities to manufacture next-generation chips, reckoned Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河), a Taiwanese commentator and founder of Wealth Magazine.
TSMC confirmed Tuesday that plants at the Southern Taiwan Science Park will be dedicated to the manufacture of 5 nm and 3 nm chips, while the company is speeding up efforts to make Hsinchu a center for the more advanced 2 nm node technologies, wrote CNA.
TSMC celebrated a milestone in July with the production of its one billionth defect-free 7 nanometer chip. The company's 7 nm chips have been used in more than 100 products.
Topology Research Institute forecast that 5 nm chips will have accounted for 16 percent of the company’s revenue between July and September, with TSMC's global market share reaching 53.9 percent in the third quarter.
