Taiwanese semiconductor firms prepare to storm China

A SEMICONDUCTOR QUARTERLY REPORT reckons liberal Taiwanese investment policies will cause an exodus of lower-profit production over to mainland China, making for a more Taiwanese dominated semiconductor market in China.

Ma Ying-jeou, the Taiwanese president, has said that new investment policies will concentrate heavily on technological standards, intellectual property rights (Ma has promised to pursue U.S. guidelines when it comes to chip technology transfers) and control of exports. The new policies also mean that mainland China will become even more accessible for Taiwanese chip firms.

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council which produced the report explained that the Chinese chip manufacturing industry is not yet developed enough to be able to cope with a massive injection of cash or accelerated fab construction. He said it could well take several years before that was the case.

He said there is “already too much excess capacity in China, but Taiwan companies can play the lead role in rationalizing and better integrating the market into the global supply chain, as they build their presence through direct investment and mergers and acquisitions."

TSMC’s recent announcement that it would be collaborating with Intel and Samsung on 450mm wafer production, which China's SMIC said it would hold back from at the moment, “further underscores the strength of the Taiwan market, while highlighting its leadership potential," Hammond-Chambers opined. µ

L’Inq
US-Taiwan Business Council

See Also
SMIC won't jump on the 450mm bandwagon
450mm wafer coming in 2012