The Japanese government welcomed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330. TW) (TSMCannouncement )’s on Tuesday that it would establish a $7 billion chip facility in Japan alongside Sony Group (6758.T).
Sony has announced that it will invest $500 million in the facility. According to a press release from the firms, construction on the factory, which will supply semiconductors to Sony’s image sensor division, will begin in 2022 and production will commence at the end of 2024.
The decision is a win for Japanese industry ministry officials, who want TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to build plants in Japan to supply chips to electronic device makers and automakers as trade tensions between the US and China threaten to disrupt supply chains and demand for the key component grows.
According to Sony and TSMC, “the fab (factory) is planned to directly produce roughly 1,500 high-tech professional employment and have a monthly manufacturing capacity of 45,000 12-inch wafers.”
According to the company, the plant will produce 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips to meet the high demand for specialty chip technologies around the world.
Taiwan, home to chipmakers such as TSMC, has taken the lead in attempts to fix a chip shortage that has shut down some vehicle production lines and damaged consumer electronics manufacturers all around the world.
TSMC, a major Apple (AAPL.O) supplier, manufactures some of the most advanced semiconductors in the world. The business has committed to spending $100 billion on semiconductor capacity expansion over the next three years and is now developing a $12 billion chip manufacturing plant in Arizona.
