A planned move by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to locate some of its chipmaking facilities abroad will be "very beneficial” for Taiwan because it will let the chipmaker work more closely with customers and help it recruit the best talent, according to a senior government official.
Fears about Taiwan’s manufacturing leadership eroding as TSMC sets up factories overseas have percolated among local commentators and shown up in newspaper op-eds. TSMC is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, with Apple and Nvidia relying on it for their most important products, and the centrality of the island to the semiconductor supply chain is seen as an essential element of its international security.
"Our semiconductor investment overseas is actually very beneficial to Taiwan, both economically and from a security aspect,” Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs C.C. Chen said in an interview on May 21. "First of all, they are close to their customers and they are close to the best talent, the best and the brightest. And thirdly, they will work with their customers to develop the most advanced, the most needed technologies.”