Business minister says investment is continuing after reports the semiconductor giant is slowing expansion plans.
Taiwan’s TSMC has not changed the investment plan for its new chip fab in Kaohsiung, the island’s southern city, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said in response to a media report that the chipmaker is slowing domestic expansion.
“TSMC makes Taiwan its global R&D hub and manufacturing hub, hasn’t changed,” Wang told reporters on the sidelines of parliament on Wednesday. “TSMC investment in Taiwan, investment in Kaohsiung has not changed either.”
Wang’s comments come after Taiwanese publication DigiTimes reported, citing sources, that TSMC is slowing its expansion plans in Kaohsiung and other Taiwanese cities.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), a major Apple supplier, declined comment, citing its quiet period ahead of quarterly results due next week.
The chipmaker last year broke ground on its Kaohsiung plant, which will produce mature 28-nanometer semiconductors.
In 2021, TSMC said the Kaohsiung expansion would also include advanced 7-nanometer chips, but the company later postponed plans to build the advanced chips there.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, said in January that it expects weaker demand amid a slowing global economy and will cut its investments to $32-36 billion this year from $36.3 billion last year.
The company has increased overseas investment in recent years, announcing new chip factories in the United States and Japan.
Shares of TSMC fell about 1 percent on Wednesday morning, lagging the broader market.
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