Taiwan Economy Minister: Chip Industry’s Growth Abroad to Be Carefully Scrutinized

By Takashi Itoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

7:00 JST, November 12, 2023

TAIPEI — In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Taiwan Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-Hua stressed that each case of overseas expansion by the island’s semiconductor industry will be carefully scrutinized for security purposes. The following is an excerpt from the interview.

For Taiwan, there’s no inherent need to produce semiconductors overseas. However, considering the semiconductor shortage and risk from China-Taiwan relations, there’s a felt need to work with countries like Japan and the U.S. in bolstering their own production systems. In evaluating overseas investments, the benefits and potential negative impacts on Taiwan’s economy are considered. Even if there are more overseas sites, the intention is to keep cutting-edge technology in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s relationship with Japan is paramount. TSMC’s expansion into Japan has been significantly supported by the Japanese government’s subsidies. Mutual investments between Japan and Taiwan will strengthen the industry’s foundations. TSMC’s Kumamoto factory offers a great opportunity to deepen cooperation in human resources development. We also hope to attract human resources from Southeast Asia.