TSMC eyes Germany as possible location for first Europe chip plant

HSINCHU, Taiwan - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Monday it is considering building its first European semiconductor plant in Germany as the global race to onshore chip production heats up. Chairman Mark Liu said TSMC is engaging in talks with "Multiple clients" about the feasibility of building a chip wafer plant in the country. The comments are the latest sign that the world's most valuable chip company is shifting away from its decadeslong strategy of concentrating the majority of its chip production in Taiwan. The company is already building a $12 billion chip facility in Arizona and is considering constructing its first-ever wafer plant in Japan. "The cost to build and operate a chip plant in Japan is much higher than doing so in Taiwan. ... We are directly discussing with our clients ways to narrow the cost gap there," Liu said. The advanced chip production plant in Arizona will be TSMC's first chip facility in the U.S. in two decades. TSMC supplies chips to almost all the key global chip developers, from Apple, Qualcomm and Advanced Microelectronics Devices to Intel, Infineon and Sony.