New Delhi CNN — Semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) may expand its global manufacturing footprint even further.
The company is considering opening its first plant in Europe and a second one in Japan, its CEO CC Wei said in an earnings call on Thursday.
TSMC, which produces an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced chips, has already upped its investment in the United States. The company announced last year that it’s building a second semiconductor factory in Arizona and raising its investment there from $12
billion to $40 billion.
Speaking about TSMC’s new plans on Thursday, Wei said that in Europe “we’re engaging with customers and partners to evaluate the possibility of building a specialty fab, focusing on automotive-specific technologies, based on the demand from customers and level of government support.”
A fab refers to a semiconductor fabrication plant.
The company is also considering building a second fab in Japan, “as long as the demand from customers and the level of government support makes sense,” he
said.
These plans come amidst
falling demand for semiconductors because of a weakening global economy.
“In the first half of 2023, we expect our revenue to decline [by] mid- to high single-digit percent over the same period last year in US dollar terms,” Wei said, adding that he expects revenue to increase in the second half of the year.
“For the full year of 2023, we forecast the semiconductor market, excluding memory, to decline approximately 4%,” he added.
Source: CNN
