US DEMAND “EXTREMELY HIGH”
Lai said on Thursday the government was not pressured by Washington “during TSMC’s US investment process”.
Wei said TSMC’s expansion was driven by growing demand from US clients and it would not affect the company’s investments in Taiwan.
TSMC planned to build 11 new production lines in Taiwan this year to meet demand, Wei said, adding “our production capacity is not enough”.
“Whenever TSMC builds a production line in any location outside Taiwan, it is always driven by customer demand,” Wei said.
“We went to Japan because of Japanese customer demand, to Germany because of German customer demand, and four years ago to the US because of American customer demand,” he said.
“Now, we are increasing our investment because the demand from US customers is extremely high.”
“Each time TSMC makes a strategic move, TSMC becomes stronger and more competitive”, Lai said.
“At the same time, it also provides Taiwanese enterprises with opportunities for international cooperation and contributes to Taiwan’s greater strength.”
“TAIWAN’S TSMC”
Taiwan is a global powerhouse in semiconductor manufacturing, with more than half of the world’s chips and nearly all of the high-end ones made there.
The concentration of chip manufacturing in Taiwan has long been seen as a “silicon shield” protecting it from an invasion or blockade by China – and an incentive for the US to defend it.
TSMC’s new US$100 billion investment sparked concerns that Trump was trying to take control of the company’s production and that its growing US footprint could weaken Washington’s willingness to protect Taiwan.
Premier Cho Jung-tai said earlier on Thursday “TSMC is ‘Taiwan’s TSMC'” and the company’s production capacity and advanced technology were “rooted in Taiwan”.
