Taiwan Economy Minister: The development of the chip industry overseas should be carefully scrutinized

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

For Taiwan, there is no need to manufacture semiconductors abroad. However, given the semiconductor shortage and the danger of Sino-Taiwan relations, there is a need to work with countries such as Japan and the US to improve their own manufacturing systems. In evaluating foreign investments, benefits and potential negative impacts on Taiwan’s economy are considered. Although there are more overseas bases, the aim is to keep the cutting-edge technology in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s relationship with Japan is very important. TSMC’s expansion in Japan is substantially supported by subsidies from the Japanese government. Mutual investments between Japan and Taiwan will strengthen the base of the industry. DSMC’s Kumamoto factory provides an excellent opportunity to deepen collaboration in human resource development. We also hope to attract manpower from Southeast Asia.