Monday, January 17th 2022
Taiwan Aims to Become Self-sufficient in Semiconductor Equipment
The Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-Wen, told local media that she believes that Taiwan can become self-sufficient when it comes to semiconductor equipment, although this is obviously not something that would happen overnight. A large part of why this has even been considered seems to be the current pandemic, as although Taiwan might not have suffered much from the pandemic itself, the nation has suffered when it comes to imports, as just in time production and delivery systems have broken down, which has affected most industries in Taiwan.
In 2021 Taiwanese semiconductor companies invested some NT$1 trillion (~US$36.3 billion), of which 70 percent was in equipment, according to the President, with around NT$600 billion (~US$21.8 billion) of that money being towards imported equipment. It also shows that local semiconductor equipment makers have a lot of work to do, especially if they're intending to catch up with their international competitors. The President also mentioned that the local semiconductor equipment industry grew by 28.7 percent in 2021, although it was still relatively small at NT$116.7 billion (~US$4.2 billion), but she was quoted as saying that she's 100 percent certain that Taiwan has the ability to make all semiconductor equipment the [local] industry needs.
Source:
Taiwan News
In 2021 Taiwanese semiconductor companies invested some NT$1 trillion (~US$36.3 billion), of which 70 percent was in equipment, according to the President, with around NT$600 billion (~US$21.8 billion) of that money being towards imported equipment. It also shows that local semiconductor equipment makers have a lot of work to do, especially if they're intending to catch up with their international competitors. The President also mentioned that the local semiconductor equipment industry grew by 28.7 percent in 2021, although it was still relatively small at NT$116.7 billion (~US$4.2 billion), but she was quoted as saying that she's 100 percent certain that Taiwan has the ability to make all semiconductor equipment the [local] industry needs.
19 Comments on Taiwan Aims to Become Self-sufficient in Semiconductor Equipment
Because ... when was the last time shareholders demanded redundancy?
Would you rather invest in TSMC knowing that Communist-occupied West Taiwan could potentially take over that investment? Or would you feel better knowing that they also have factories on other continents with free markets and your investment is at least somewhat protected from tribal geopolitical nonsense?
The Chinese people are not stupid, nor are they the incredible fans of the CCP that the CCP likes to advertise that they are. Seeing Taiwan advancing with 4-5x GDP per capita while under the thumb of the CCP is not something that's going unnoticed.
It is unlikely that it will be possible to produce advanced equipment there. For many countries, this is politically disadvantageous, in my opinion. But it would be nice if they will achieve at least some self-sufficiency.
I feel the same though, because they view the Russian actions as a distraction for us in that scenario, friendship be damned.